14/52: The Bright Side
Before I even begin this week's blog, I have to let you know - we got puppies!!
Now that's something that just makes the worst of weeks seem wonderful. Here's an adorable picture of 'Cookie' and 'Chip', our future regal-like standard harlequin poodle boys. A great time to spend with two little fellas coming into a new home. They make the future look very bright indeed :)
But cute puppies are not the (only) thing I wanted to discuss.
This week I've seen more innovation, creativity, 'embracing of' new technology and 'thinking outside the square' than I can remember. In diversity, we really do shine. Here's some examples from my life:
A colleague using video conferencing software for the first time to conduct interviews. In the same vein, every team meeting and individual catch up we've conducted for the last two weeks has now been via videoconferencing and collaboration has never been better!
A friend who runs an events space and kitchen and now generates nearly all of their income from local online food orders. They've now also diversified their offering to 'care packages' where you can order an essential food/pantry pack for a loved one.
My musician mate who lives in rural England and normally travels extensively to play gigs but now hosts a weekly Wednesday gig from his loungeroom attracting 80+ people (and decent Paypal donations). He's also offering to play private concerts via Facebook Live (this is an idea that I think could become very popular)
My children having playdates via video software. By the way, watching a group of six-year-olds in a conference call is hilarious. They now have a daily hookup at 3pm and it's one of the highlights of the day for them (and me!).
A Dad who plays with his kids every morning before breakfast, goes for rides at lunch and spends one on one time with them every day.
There are also a load of other much higher-level innovations taking place in science, business and education. Google it and you'll quickly see what's going on in this space.
So while the short-term pain is very real and it's going to be hard to bear, I believe that due to technology and major shift in our values, we're going to come out of this a more connected, more community-focussed and more family-focussed society than in any time in my life.
As Cookie and Chip already seem to know, the future really is bright.
I'd love to know how you're managing during this self-isolation period. What are you doing differently and what will you continue to do long after COVID-19?