Finding Magic in a Pandemic
When I first started this blog it was an outlet for me in Vermont. It was about moving from the center of the universe to a very left of center town. Lately, I have been working on finding the heart of this blog as it lives now. I’ve been crafting my elevator pitch for when people ask me what I write about. Is it about acting and writing? Is it about living in the city? Anxiety? Depression? Just a general diary that I share with the masses?
I realized I wanted it to be more about magic in the everyday. One of my most read and commented on pieces was about how fairy tales are incredibly important, especially now. Taking from that, I wanted to write a blog about the struggle but also the hope and how to find magic in our every day lives to remind us of the power of the universe, how connected we are, and where to go to find a little push to keep moving forward.
I had a whole blog planned about how to find little magical moments every day. I share one a week with my newsletter on Fridays. However, the world changed massively in a matter of a few weeks and now I am writing about how to find magic in this trying time.
Here we go:
First of all, looking for magic is easy. It is about opening your eyes and looking around. Perhaps it is just a small leaf drifting down in the wind. It could be a crazy coincidence that stops you in your tracks. A song playing over a speaker in the grocery store. Or even thinking of a person and they text you moments later. It’s watching the universe for signs without focusing too hard. It is remember to listen and hear the world around you. Sometimes it is speaking directly to you.
These are things I have found magical in these quiet moments as a silence falls over the globe.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I’ve been trying to cut down on my screentime but that is clearly over now. I’ve been using social media for connection and my god, it is actually beautiful. Seeing videos of people singing on balconies, cats and dogs making cameos in Zoom meetings, MEMES ALL THE MEMES, and stories from the frontlines that give information and/or hope. While social media can be truly terrible and damaging, right now it is the thread that is keeping me (and others, I am sure) feeling less isolated.
Instagram live is one my least favorite things about the app. I popped into lives constantly by mistake and always yelped and scurried out. Now I am seeking them out. So many incredible people are using that feature to give concerts, work out classes, shows. There are yoga classes and Broadway actors doing living room concerts and celebrities reading children’s books. Most of these are asking for small donations for food banks or BCEFA among other organizations to help spread the good. Here are some I’ve partaken in and loved..
Miley Cyrus has been doing one called the Bright Minded with special guests
John Legend did a concert last night and John Mayer is doing one today I believe
Comments by Celebs Instagram is posting daily schedules of suggestions (@commentsbycelebs)
Debbie Allen is teaching a dance class today
Countless mediation, yoga, and other workouts are waving their fees
Laura Benanti asked for kids who had their high school musicals canceled send in videos of performing numbers from the shows. Follow the hashtag #sunshinesongs and prepare to weep
YouTubers are sharing music classes and other enrichment. I am not a parent but I know many who have been grateful for this.
Broadway singers and actors have been doing living room concerts
Free therapy sessions from certified therapists for those of us who need it most
There is so much content being created that is beautiful. It is almost overwhelming at the resources we have to feel comforted and less alone.
Because of social media and sharing memes to lighten the mood, I’ve talked to many friends that I haven’t in a while. I have a good friend in Barcelona that I chatted with about something humorous but then we checked in on each other. Back and forths that last only a few messages yet matter for far longer. We are not alone.
CHECKING IN
This is a big one. In my newsletter, I wrote about checking in on your people. I’ve been feeling isolated out here in Jersey (this was a week ago when things somehow were more normal than today. Insane). My husband and I are doing well but that doesn’t stop us from missing our friends and doing the things we love. I’ve been checking in on my people and I have been checked in on as well. The human connection is powerful; we forget about it. Even just a quick text of how are you means the world to me. Everyone is affected by this pandemic.
That’s the main source of magic. This human connection. This world moment. I said the other day that I couldn’t think of the last world issue that brought everything to its knees. Have we ever had one? Maybe World War II was what we came up with but even then, there were parts of the world that weren’t involved. This is everyone. As horrifying as that is, the connection is bringing us (I hope) closer together. Reminding us that human life is fragile and can change in an instant. I’ve seen many posts about how this is showing us we have to slow down and maybe that meeting could have been an email and the people and things we love are what matters most. Find what matters to you most and grow it. Now is the time.
PRODUCTIVITY
Look, we all want to take this time to write the next great play or novel. We don’t have to. It is important to stay productive. Being unemployed before all this, I can tell you a schedule is key. Instead of remembering that there is no end in sight, I try and schedule everything so I don’t feel that endlessness. I have the flexibility to read for two hours instead of one but I can’t think of it as “it doesn’t matter if I keep reading because nothing matters anymore.” Stay away from those thoughts.
There are schedule samples out there that are helpful. What I have been doing is making a creative daily schedule. Reading, writing, French, coloring, MasterClass, movies/television. All are soothing activities, all are things I love. I know many of us are without work and I encourage you to make a list of daily activities you like to do on snow days or rainy days. Obviously my favorites are a lot of going out activities like museums and movies. There are resources (shared below) of ways to still do those things from my couch.
There is magic in what you love. A sense of warmth coming over you as the world fades away and your focus is on the task that brings you light. Just make the list. I bet you can fill a day with all the things.
ENTERTAINMENT
Considering the entertainment industry has been hit by this virus freight train, it may appear impossible to find sources that aren’t binge watching The Sopranos for the fifth time (not trashing this, just an example). Luckily, the industry has opened up many of the events we assumed we would be missing for several weeks.
The Met Opera is streaming a free opera every night. Monday was Carmen and Tuesday was La Boheme. We did the first act of Carmen (we tried) and watched all of La Boheme (it is Rent so I knew the story more). You can find the daily opera on their website at 7:30PM and their Roku channel.
Museums have virtual tours. Might I suggest our very own Metropolitan Museum of Art, a place I miss dearly in this time where I’d seek solace in its vast halls
The Instagram live concerts I mentioned. Follow your favorite musicians/Broadway actors and see if they are doing one
MOVIES! Universal Pictures is releasing several new movies On Demand while they still are in theaters since most theaters are closing. Invisible Man and Emma are two examples that will be $20 which is less than a movie ticket if you are watching with another person.
Disney released Frozen II early on Disney+. Folks, it’s really good.
Skype, FaceTime, Roll20 are great ways to play games with friends or have what my dear friend and I called FaceWine when I lived in Vermont. We plan to have a virtual happy hour tomorrow and play D&D this weekend again with Google Hangouts
Go to a theme park: there are many videos of rides in Disney World and other theme parks. As much as I hate when people film the fireworks, you can watch them now and pretend you are there. Parades and even a total walk through of the Haunted Mansion are available as well.
Listen to a record with a candle burning. It’ll change your life.
BOOKS
That to be read pile? Yeah, get into it. Books are the greatest form of magic aside from true love (duh) and a surefire way to escape reality.
JOURNALING
I write outside this blog. Scribblings here and there. It helps to write everything out, especially if you are feeling anxious. Write about why and how and what you are feeling. Look at the words when you are done and breathe.
There is so much more than this list above. I can honestly say I have never felt so moved as I have in this time. It is unprecedented, upside down, unreal but it is happening and I chose to find the magic. I’ve seen kindness spread across the globe. People shopping for the elderly, stores adding special hours for them. People fostering animals from shelters during a time where volunteers are quarantined (we are considering this as well). I’ve seen help in the darkest, most unexpected places. I feel the world coming together in a way I never have. I’m not sure any of us have. It is an absolute wonder if we view it as such.
I’ll write the blog about magic in the everyday eventually. For now, one of my moments of magic this week was using my husband’s lap as a pillow as La Boheme played on our television and we did a crossword puzzle. It was simple yet unique. Would we have watched an opera normally? Nope. Do we do crosswords? Rarely. It was a moment of quiet, of entertainment, of calm. Moments of magic exist even in the darkest timeline. You just have to find them.
Help where and if you can. Check on your people. Wash your hands. Stay inside. Watch for magic.
