This is not where I’d been expecting to spend the Easter holiday, well at least not quite..

I’d planned to be up on a little island off the far West coast of Scotland with my family.

In some ways, weirdly I guess, our holiday would have had many similarities to our current situation. We would indeed be isolated, both from people and normal life- staying on an island only inhabited by around 130 people, we’d be hiding away from the world for a week. I’d be staying in a self-catering house with my mum and dad amongst other family members, so we’d all be spending a lot of time together.

But, unlike now we’d be free to do as we please; sea kayaking, hiking up mountains, roaming wild beaches and no doubt trying some of the local food. Instead like everyone else we are all stuck at home, enduring days that revolve around the four walls of our house.

I am lucky that 4 weeks ago, I could leave my garden-less flat in London and come home to my parents’ house in the Kent countryside to wait out the lock down. I miss my housemates, and having the freedom to do what I please. But here I have footpaths on my doorstep and a lovely garden to enjoy, and three dogs to keep me busy. Not everyone is nearly as lucky and I take my hat off to people living in cities with limited space, who are still managing to hold onto their sanity. I’m not sure I could.

Living and working from home has been an odd experience.

There are moments I still think this is really nice, like being able to wake up at a leisurely time on a Monday, eat my lunch on the patio with birdsong, and getting straight out to walk the dogs through the orchards, bursting with apple blossom after work. It does have its benefits. I have slowed down in many aspects of my life where I didn’t allow myself to before. I’ve always been of the mindset that weekends are precious and should be jam packed with activities, not spent lazing around, wasting time. Lockdown has forced me to soften and allow myself time to just be. To not be doing anything, for once that is all I can and should be doing. It’s been quite a learning curve.

But there have also been difficult days, where I’ve felt quite empty. Living back home with a family member who really struggles with their mental health has been challenging and has made me realise just how important campaigns around domestic abuse and the risks of depression are at this time. Not everyone can feel safe at home, and sometime home isn’t always the safest place to be.

On a positive note, I’ve been reading more books and dreaming about future adventures and travels I might one day go on.

These two have been my favourites- beautiful images, illustrations and great recommendations. Even though the furthest distance I can currently run is 10K a girl can dream about future epic adventures and after hiking part of the Jordan trail in February I’ve been inspired to do more long distance hiking.

Definitely worth checking out if you need some travel inspiration in these troubling times..

Epic Hikes of the World

Epic Runs of the World

Despite limits on our time outside I am trying to stay active.

Exercise and being outside is really important for my mental health and has honestly helped me so many times when I am stuck in a low patch. I’ve been doing yoga for years now and try and squeeze in a little sequence most days- yoga is like a chameleon, you can change its pattern to suit your mood. Fast, flow classes keep me energised whilst slow gentle holds help to leave me feeling restored and more in tune with myself. It’s a staple in my life.

Last Summer, I picked up running after many failed attempts.

For years I’d built up a mental barrier against it- I can’t do it, I don’t want to do it was the phrases I associated with the act of putting one foot in front of the other at speed.

But that in itself is the beauty and simplicity of running- it’s tiring and is a hard habit to master but once you begin to break through the mental barrier and your body adapts, you begin to enjoy it.

It becomes weirdly addictive and is an instant mood booster. I started running to cope with a period of emotional pain in my own life and still to this day it is the best tool I have for relieving stress and finding my sense of self again. I cannot recommend it enough.

I recommend using Strava to time your runs and if you’re new to running, doing your own variation on the couch to 5K plan is ideal. That’s how I started, and it’s a great way to build up slowly so you actually enjoy the process rather than just wanting to die after every run. NOT fun as I learnt the hard way.

Running, yoga, baking and photography have been my tonics.

I’m also very fortunate to still have a job, a job which I can do from home. Work has given me a routine and stopped each day from simply sliding into one seemingly continuous day of never-ending lock down blues. I’ve tried my hand at baking, for ages I’ve wanted to try making homemade pizza dough and I finally got round to doing it last Friday. Mum also made some hot cross buns so at least our baking efforts have increased.

There are so many things to be grateful for- I went and sat in the wood near my house a few days ago on my daily walk and just soaked in the bluebell haze around me.

I have always loved macro photography and finding the little details in nature through a camera lens, but this has been the case even more so over the last few weeks.

Writing this post in itself has been therapeutic, and so gradually I think I am beginning to settle into this new way of being. I think perhaps,*maybe, just maybe* I might miss the slow pace when things return to ‘normal’. We shall see…

Sarah x