But I was supposed to be…

…in New Zealand? Peru? India? Where were you supposed to be? Probably not quarantined in the same place for weeks on end! As worldschoolers we are used to exploring, being presented with new challenges, stimulation, different sights, all the time. And all of a sudden all this came to a halt. Our lives stopped. It’s just us and our families in the same 4 walls. Now What?

Our Quarantine

My daughters and I arrived in Mexico in mid February. We had planned on spending 2-3 months here, with my husband visiting us a couple of times. When the Corona crisis hit the US, we had to make a decision whether to pack up and go home to Colorado, or to stick it out here. We decided to stay in Playa del Carmen, like we had originally planned anyway. We were in a small studio on a property that has an outside area for the kids to play, and a couple of common spaces. There are 2 other worldschooling families here, so we feel like we have a little support system. I like to write about raising kids, self care, and life. I believe in analyzing and creating awareness of what we feel inside, so we can face what’s coming at us on the outside.

How do you feel?

Chaos, right? Our lives have been turned entirely upside down, right side up, and upside down again. We are having to deal with issues we have never dealt with before. There are no drawers in our brains to file the happenings in the world in. New ones need to be created, quickly, as we are trying to make sense of what we are seeing, experiencing, and feeling. Heck, not just new drawers, we need to build entire new dressers! We are confronted with fears andworriestaht we have never had to face before. For the first time in our lives everyone in the entire world is affected by the same thing at pretty much the same time.

Given this chaos on the outside, there is a good chance we are dealing with an even bigger chaos on the inside! And this internal chaos looks different for each one of us, as we each find ourselves in our own unique situation.

Corona Amplifies Everything!

The issues we are dealing with have two different origins.

Those caused by Corona like global worries, financial strain, health issues, cancellations, fear of the unknown and, probably the biggest issue for people in our community, the feeling of being stuck because we can’t go where we want to go and continue the life of travel we so love.
Things from within that were already there like struggles with family relationships, letting go, staying grounded, dealing with unresolved losses , and facing issues that haven’t been processed.

WE ARE WORLDSCHOOLERS

As worldschoolers, we can’t stand being told what to do! After all, we are continuously creating the life we want. We are living our dreams. We are doers who know that not everyone approves of our decisions and doing them anyway. And now, all of a sudden, we have to stop. Just stop. Not only can we not make our own decisions about where we want to be, we are also in the same position as everyone else, and there isn’t a thing we can do about it.

Our neighbors might panic and fear running out of toilet paper, where we panic because we feel trapped. This global situation is so big. It’s beyond us. Even we are stuck now.After the panic and frustration, we need to come back to ourselves and find our inner strength again. After all, we are doers. We can dream big, make decisions on the fly, and adjust when things don’t happen the way we had planned. WE need to deal with the fact that we cannot control the future. We have no idea when we will be able to control our future. All we can do is deal with now. How do we make the best of the situation we find ourselves in now? And even better, how can we use it to our advantage, to learn, to discover, and grow?

First things first, let’s assess:

How do you feel today? Can you put names to 3 things you are feeling?
Where do these feelings come from? Were they there yesterday?
Do you like how you feel? If not, what do you need to make a change?

There is no doubt that we all have an extraordinary amount of strength. After all, it is this strength which enabled us to choose a different path for our lives in the first place. Now it is time to rein ourselves in and tap into the energy we do have even if we feel we have lost that ability.

MINDSET IS EVERYTHING

We have all heard the above quote countless times, haven’t we? As we struggle with restrictions imposed on us dealing with fears of not being able to sustain a lifestyle we so love, and spend so much time building It helps to focus on the things we can control: our mood, our energy levels, the daily choices we make for us, for our kids, for our families. Once we figure out where we are at with our feelings each day, what we need, and what we want to change, we can focus on having a good day.

There is a way to enjoy the unknown. In fact, we do it all the time when traveling! We often take pride in not having plans, going with the flow, trusting that things will work out. And they do. Let’s be present, focus on the now and not get caught up in fear of the future. We are travelers! You are a traveler! What happens when things go ‘wrong’ in our travels? We adjust. And that’s exactly what we can do now.

I feel like this could end here. The next bit is cool. But it seems like the start of a new essay, or maybe the end of a new essay.

TRAVEL KEEPS US GOING

Travel provides us with constant stimulation, it keeps us busy, interested, challenged, and feeling free and alive. If you are having some feelings of panic because you can’t continue your journeys right now, here are some questions to ask yourself to explore this panic further:

Why do I travel?
What does travel give me?
How do I feel when I’m traveling?
How do I not feel,when I’m not where I”m “supposed” to be?
Why do I need to travel?
Why do I panic when I can’t travel?
Is there something inside that I want to keep buried and by traveling I stay busy and don’t see this?

If we are honest with ourselves and allow ourselves the time we need to explore and to learn what’s going on inside us, we become stronger on the outside. And that strength will be there for us and support us when we need it. It is also a huge confidence builder, and being confident is being happy!

ow, is the time to focus on what we can do. It may not be our first choice, but we can most likely go on a road trip. We can be in nature. We can find cool sites to visit without crowds. There is something out there for you! I know. Because there always, always is.

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