COVID-19 Update: Body and Soul, Monroe Street Businesses

Hi Everybody.

Early on I mentioned how this is a marathon, not a sprint. I meant that metaphoically, but it's evident that we all need to be engaged in types of self-care that include movement. Sitting on the couch and eating crappy food is not going to boost our immune systems.

But doing the opposite, staying physically active, eating well, drinking lots of water, and getting a full night's sleep, will in fact enhance our ability to fight the virus.

Here are two articles on the topic of exercise in the age of coronavirus, one in the NY Times and the other on Medium.  Regular exercise is clinically proven to increase immunity to respiratory ailments.  When you exercise outdoors, whether you go for a walk, a run, or a ride on your bike, please remember to maintain that six feet of clearance between yourself and the nearest human.  Show deference, step aside, wait your turn. It's easy to do. The parks and bike paths are crowded, as you've probably noticed, but there's no hall pass that says because I'm out exercising I get to cheat and forget the social distancing rules about how we keep each other safe.

Just as we need to take care of our bodies, it's equally important that we take care of our souls -- our mental, emotional and spirtitual health. Loneliness is its own disease, particularly for the elderly, and the enforced isolation we're experiencing can have a corrosive effect. 

Taking care of our souls means we need to find ways to build social intimacy in the midst of our physical distancing. We remember that not everyone has a family, some are living alone, so we'll need to keep that in mind as we reach out to each other and strengthen those neighborly bonds, even if we can't do it with direct human contact.  The goal is that none of us would feel lonely, even if we're alone.  And, more to the point, our elderly neighbors must not be shut out from our love and care.

Music is another way to nourish our souls, yet experiencing live music is just not possible for the time being. As someone who has built a career on bringing people together and building community around music, I want to encourage you to take advantage of creative ways to enjoy music online. My friend, Rob Thomas, just wrote a good piece about what local musicians are doing to share their good vibes with us. If you can, consider making a donation to your faves out there who are live-streaming buoyancy and joy, soundtracks for dance parties, dance parties that can feed your body and your soul!

Monroe Street Businesses - Closures and Online Options

Rachel Fields (Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association President) has put together a list of Monroe Street businesses, including current hours, closures and online options, to help neighbors support our local businesses during this time of social distancing. In alignment with the CDC, we recommend that neighbors practice social distancing whenever possible while taking care of these great options for distanced pick-up, online ordering, gift cards and more! The list is linked here: https://shorturl.at/jlENQ. It is being kept up to date. If you are a business owner and you do not see your business represented or have updated information to share, please email Rachel Fields at president@dmna.org and we will be happy to assist.

I'm going to suggest the D13 Neighborhood Alliance set something like this up district-wide, so that we have an inventory of who's open, who's not, and the different ways we can assist via carry out and delivery options, and online gift cards.

So, yes, it's a marathon, not a sprint. There are useful sayings in recovery support groups that are poignant for this moment, sayings like "One Day At A Time," and "This Too Shall Pass." 

One day at time, remembering to breathe, to move and to connect, making the very best of this shared experience of collective vulnerability. 

That's how we get through this, that's how we prevail.

Be safe. Be well. Be kind.

Tag