Do The Things That Make You Happy
Love in the Time of Corona—Day 30
I’ve been having a tough time of it the past few days. (Weeks? Lifetimes? How long has it been?)
From being sick, I developed a super-quarantine mentality, to the point that I’ve barely left my apartment at all in the past month. As in, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve opened the front door of my home and walked out.
For one thing, I’ve been worried that either I didn’t have the virus before and might still be susceptible to infection, or that even if I did have it, getting infected twice might be possible. I also obviously have been wary of spreading it to others, if indeed I had it and if experts are wrong that you’re no longer contagious after 14 days of illness.
It was starting to get to me. My routine was work, eat, sleep (not a lot), then do it again—all in the same space with no other humans and a dwindling supply of food and drink options.
So yesterday, I resolved to go out.
First, I walked in the dog park across the street, talking to friends on the phone. Must have spent an hour there, soaking up the descending sun, feeling the grass under my feet and getting more steps in on the Fitbit I don’t own than I have in the past few weeks combined.
Then, I got in my car and drove. It had been exactly 29 days since the last time I’d driven, when I’d gone to CVS hours before I first started getting symptoms. Last night, I drove down through Santa Monica, out towards the ocean, and I followed the Pacific Coast Highway for a half hour or so, up into Malibu. The sky went from orange to maroon to blue to black, and eventually I turned around and headed home to work, eat, and sleep (not a lot) again.
That walk and that drive, though—they made me happy. They made the difference in my day, and left me with better energy than I have had in the past number of days.
So, that’s my message to you in this moment: Identify the things that make you happy during these difficult times, and commit to doing them as much as you can.
You have to commit, too, because it’s easy to get too bogged down in either the things you’re doing or in the feelings you’re having, which dissuade you from pursuing moments of happiness.
I’m trying to follow my own advice, and to make time each day for things that will make me feel good. It’s important. It’s necessary. And it beats the hell out of the alternative.
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Read other posts from the “Love in the Time of Corona” series by Sam Rosenthal:
- Love in the Time of Corona — Day 1
- Days 2 + 3, Purgatory
- Day 4, Powerless
- Days 5 + 6, On the Necessity of Everyday Heroism
- Days 7 + 8, Rose-Colored Realism
- Days 9 + 10, Stir Crazy
- Days 11–13, Turning the Corner?
- Day 14, A Down-and-Up Kinda’ Day
- Days 15 + 16, Thanks, Health Heroes
- 15 Practical Ways You Can Help Fight COVID-19
Read more of Sam Rosenthal’s work at samrose101.com, check out his #businesscardstories collection, follow him at @SamRoseWrites and stay tuned for his debut novel, Walking Backwards.
And always Keep It Movin.
