Julie Dexter: Going Within as well as Out – The School of Laughter: Find Your Funny

Covid-19 Smooth Manoeuvre between two states: Going within as well as Out.

Hour by hour, day by day all of the moments of self isolation in COVID-19 seem to roll in to one. It’s hard to separate each moment from the next during these bizarre, hellishtimes.

A certain amount of clarity is what’s needed if we aren’t to fall into a lonely state of mind. Previous things that we worried about before the virus have no bearing now. Right now all that matters is food, medicine and toilet rolls. One day it is eggs you want and need. The next it is toilet roll. Or flour, or tinned tomatoes. Or any tomato for that matter. Not to mention the stress of where your pay is going to materialise from, even though you know the government has the power to wipe off over thirteen billon debt for the NHS trusts. But when we have only to think about where the eggs and toilet roll will come from, we can become down and mourn for our old life of social and cultural events.

With only the option of moving between five to six rooms if we are lucky, the ability to oscillate between inner and outer thought without getting down is important. All we have to cling to is that somehow something good must come of this monumental crisis where daily death tolls weigh heavy on our hearts. We can but hope. Getting into going inside ourselves, using the time to consider losing negativity and things that don’t serve us any more is best thought about whilst going out of yourself too: speak out indeed. By writing, talking to yourself, your dog, your cat, and to anything or everything which annoys you, frustrates you, or you love, with your walk, your , gardening, your politics, and with humour and laughter.

And make time to go back in again. After all there’re not many places to pop in and out of at present.

Julie A. Dexter