Hey there, how’s your mental health? Have you called a friend or family member lately?
Saying we live in a wild time would be the understatement of the millenium. Personally it’s not the first time a life threatening illness has threatened my way of life and those around me. However, I find comfort in knowing that there are a lot of collective forces out of my control and focusing on what I can do right now instead of what I can’t is the most productive approach.
I think we’ve all felt at some point or another that life was moving way too fast, and at the end of every long work day the motivation to work on your hobbies, art, language, learning, etc. was gone. Where our financial obligations to pay for food and rent held us back from our potential passions, we now (as Canadians) are able to virtually put all those expenses on pause. We may be forced to quarantine, but there are exceptional government safety net systems that will pay you to stay home:
Alberta Emergency Financial Assistance
AFC Emergency Financial Aid (Entertainment Industry)
Service Canada EI Sickness Benefits (covers quarantined cases, over an hour wait time)
I will continue to add more resources as I find them.
Considering this now, it’s safe to say this chaotic time now presents a unique opportunity to finally focus on you and those special interests you’ve neglected for so long. Now, say you don’t have a project or hobby you’ve ever been interested in exploring? Here’s an amazing twitter thread of free and affordable resources by @Torgo_Phylum on twitter to get you started.
All this being said, the situation is not a complete win by any means, in fact 2020 has dished out some really big L’s for a lot of amazing people in my life and among our community.
Images sourced by Ryan Oceros
Many industries have collected huge financial losses (entertainment, service, education, tech, etc.) and it’s likely we will see some pretty long lasting effects in our economy far beyond this virus’ resolution. If you are among those in the Canadian Entertainment field (performers, organizers, and agents alike) please please please take a moment to add your voice to the many others on the Canadian Event Industry Crisis page. I cannot stress that enough.
Outside of events, I’d like to take a moment on the very small platform I have here to remind everyone to keep looking towards how you can help support and grow your local community. Local business can only thrive off local support, and whether it’s a local band performing, a local glass blower making art, a local restaurant offering specials, or a local educator providing private lessons; please open opportunities up for these local businesses to cater to your needs. This does not mean spending beyond your means to support your starving artist friends or eating out when you can’t afford it. This means if you are looking for something to do on the weekend, look for those local shows; if you are looking for gifts, look to those local artists; if you are thinking about private lessons, reach out to local community networks.
When this quarantine is finally lifted and we all emerg from our houses with vitamin D deficiencies and giant brains from all the learning we did, I guaruntee we’ll be in need of some social attention, and what better way to do so than by supporting one another.
Much love,
Millz