May Transformations

April 2020 will go down in world history as one of the most controversial and turbulent months following WWII. This is not the time to… wait, let me stop right there and re-phrase: this is indeed the time to double back, evaluate and re-chart that course, because if you haven’t been taking advantage of the social distancing and lockdown time these past six weeks, then you have wasted a valuable opportunity. 

These have been days where instead of battling an excel sheet or the CRM system, I have been fighting with new software, battling my way through tutorials, honing my skills in my weak spots of photography, and yes, after some very interesting conversations with other authors, re-assessing the plot my current work-in-progress. It is not about being productive in terms of output, but about growing in the face of adversity. 

I speak for all those confined within four small walls for Home Office, all the partners of frontliners who have to man the fort during these uncertain times, and all those whose jobs are on the line due to the economic crisis that is just beginning to rear its ugly head. April was not just a confusing blur, but a great big slimy blob that stood in the way of every possible doorway of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I picture April 2020 to be something similar to the huge Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters – absolutely clumsy, utterly useless and destructive. It was an apocalyptic month that brought about personal, social, and professional crashes, making me just want to crawl towards the bitter end as quickly as possible with every last bit of strength in my being. 

If April was the stairway to hell, and it certainly felt like a tortuous abyss, here we are in the beginning of May, wondering what lies ahead. For some, the prospect of extended lockdowns until the middle of the month, or perhaps even the end, is just as dismal as April. For others, who get to return to work (if they still have a job), it is the start of a strange new journey. Then there are those of us stuck in a strange limbo, waiting for the confinement period to end, but not particularly over-eager to pick up where we left off. 

Working on my balcony the past couple of days, clearing up the clutter and planting the summer blooms was incredibly therapeutic. I pulled up the dead and withered plants that didn’t make it through the winter, got my hands dirty again in the soil, and marvelled at the resilience of nature. I don’t have to be in another country or city to witness the wild animals re-conquer nature with the absence of humans. It suffices to learn the lessons my three little fruit trees are teaching – don’t interfere too much with the natural flow of things or you will mess it all up. 

My May begins with a new marketing campaign for Wings At Dawn and an upcoming author’s interview that will be released as a podcast on The Authors’ Show later this month. That is certainly a major change to being told to stay indoors for an undetermined period!