LIFE IN THIS PECULIAR SEASON

“There is no such thing as being busy. You are either good at time management or you suck at it.”, I heard someone once say.

Ok, depending on who you are, what your life looks like and who you share it with, this can lead to a very colorful discussion to a very black & white comment. But let’s not, ok? This is also not the reason for my article. But rather, more an emphasis on how we each deal with this corona season. 

Anyways, due to the season previously mentioned, many of us have had the experience of rolling out of bed, grabbing coffee (or tea) and whatever you eat for breakfast, a quick shower (I hope), dress and then it’s off to the corner in the house that serves as your office desk. Your commute to work has been drilled down to less than a minute. Possibly even holding the same cup of coffee or tea you started the day off with.

How am I doing so far? Any accuracy in my description?

And as most of us have had a course or presentation on how ‘to’ and ‘not to’ spend our time between work and privacy in the comfort of our homes: we diligently keep to the 8 or so working hours per day… or do we?

What I’m getting at is this, we work at home, spend almost nil time on commute and should be keeping to a healthy work life balance, which creates more time for something else to do… as is the case for me.

What to do with all that extra time? As a family guy I spend a lot of time cuddling my kids and giving my wife some extra TLC. But that also can come to a point of… enough is enough… (or is that just me?) So, after a couple of weeks deep in this peculiar season I start noticing people in my social circle picking up and/or starting something new.

To give you some examples, a dentist couple I know who love baking, started

making Indonesian snacks and (with the help of socialmedia) sell & deliver them to

a growing number of people as their popularity kept growing. Or how about two guys from a party catering company start a pickup corner for spareribs (and it is really good, the meat just melts off the bone!), or even friends who are passionate about personal health & dieting start online workshops to a growing number of participants… and the list keeps on going. These are people who started using their extra time to be innovative and even using their hobbies as a new way to deal with the time they have been given.

And maybe you did as well. Hobbies can be very therapeutic. In my case, I picked up an old passion of mine… plants, yeah, you heard me. I love plants. To be more specific, I started making ecosystems in a jar… it’s just a big bottle with a plant inside and closed off with a cork, creating its own ecosystem, just like planet earth only way smaller. I always wanted to do this and as Mother's Day was around the corner I jumped online, read all I could on the topic while watching tons of youtube tutorials. Next step was gathering what I needed. Scouring the internet and the local gardening centers, I got my first glass jar with a big cork on it. Picked out some of my favorite miniplants (plugs) and got other necessities and tools. And the moment arrived to put it all together. In this case it was a ‘just do it’ mentality combined with following the youtube tutorials.

Now, you probably think, anyone can put a plant in a jar of earth and close it with the cork plug and call it a masterpiece. True, I’m sure anyone can. Just like anyone can be given a lump of clay and make a cup to hold his drinking water…

Anyways, I gave my first two creations to my dear mom and mother-in-law (loved the smiles that followed) and I did not stop there. I made more as I really enjoy creating these ecosystems, posted them online and after a few days started getting comments other than how good they look. People started asking me if I also do orders… now that was unexpected. What started as a new hobby, started getting serious attention from my social circle. And well, you guessed it, keeping to the fact that I enjoy making these green creations, and also not to create a jungle of green glass jars at home (which would drive my wife crazy), I started exploring this new venture.

And so, as I write this article, I’ve started my second week of getting orders and creating little green ecosystems. Well, let’s see where this adventure takes us, yeah?

Ecosystems in a jar anyone?

And to conclude, recently I had a discussion with a colleague about sharing the hobbies that we are passionate about with those around us. And I truly believe that happiness is best experienced when shared with others. And in my experience, the joy I create in others is the real deal to what we call ‘being rich’. No recession or crisis can ever take that away from you.

Just some ‘food for thought’ to close off the article. Hope you enjoyed the read.