Force Majeure

The Force Majeure we are all living through has invoked every emotion possible in me, but the emotional that made me come over all Vera Lynn has to be Hope,

The dictionary definition says Hope is a feeling of expectation, but its more than that, its something that you don't know you need until the chips are down, like now, but its something that can be restored by simple acts of kindness, like those we are seeing reported on the news and across social media, the whole country coming out to clap for our NHS, grateful gifts left for the binmen, children drawing rainbows for their whole street and the most heart warming of all Captain Tom Moore raising Millions with his Zimmer frame marathon.

I have never witnessed anything quite like it, despite the fear and uncertainty, there it is, spirit, strength and resilience. The world is sharing ways to stay positive, the internet is jam packed with free inspirational content, Music playlists , online fitness tutorials, cooking videos and crafts, some were always there, others born out of lock down boredom.

One of my favourites is the craze for at home tie-dye, Instagram has been awash with people taking fabric dye to their white t-shirts and socks with mixed results, some were so popular they are now selling them to their followers, turning a hobby into a small business, And while hippy tie-dye may not be everyones bag its the enterprising nature of people facing into an economic crisis that i admire, people facing redundancy or being unemployed as a result of being part of the gig economy, wouldn't it be great if they could turn their lock-down hobby into a business venture?

But before that can happen our shopping mindset has to change, small business’ cant offer free postage as its coming out of their pocket, they cant afford to be cheaper / discount as quite often they manufacture in the uk, all things we take for granted in our current over saturated shopping environment. So maybe the kindness we are displaying elsewhere can extend to these budding entrepreneurs and we remember them when this is all over. I hope so.

Photo Credit : DanniJo Instagram