Notes From The Furlough: Day 42

How you conduct yourself is more important than what you do.

Please discuss. How does this play out in life?

I’ll start us out. For those of us used to working regularly, COVID-19 furlough/layoff and the shift to endless free time has been abrupt and challenging. We’re suddenly in nonstop weekend mode—too much time ant not enough to do to fill it. We want to keep occupied, but social distancing, sheltering at home, and frugality limit our options. Binge watching Netflix is an easy default solution.

Today I’m reminded that my existence is a continuous stream of now moments. My life is only hopefully long now, and this is what I contribute to the collective consciousness, my personal legacy. When I pack a picnic lunch, I gather up tasty sustaining food and drink, things I enjoy and that will make me happy. I need to select my life experiences similarly, remembering always that I control my reactions to circumstances. I can manage my thoughts about an event, thereby dictating my emotional response to it. At any given moment, I get to choose how I feel. This is the true power I have in any situation, and it renders my thoughts and feelings around an event—the how—more impactful than the event itself and my reaction to it—the what. Today I choose to enjoy and appreciate what I do.

How about you? How do you wring as much happiness as possible out of your life circumstances?