Happy Moments in Times of Crisis

Aug 18, 20203 min read

Updated: Feb 14, 2021

We are all in the same boat. I used to hear that phrase from many people as I was growing up. We have been through a very rough patch in Puerto Rico, with corruption in the government, hurricanes, earthquakes, and a fragile economy. Before March 2020, I could say, "we are in the same boat" just for the Puerto Rican people, but it is not a secret that the whole world is "in the same boat" regarding COVID19.

While we are all challenged by the state of the world these days, each of us is facing this pandemic with a different situation. There are the people on the front lines, the workers in essential jobs, people who have lost their jobs and are now facing hunger, and many others, each one in their own crisis.

The list is long, but even through these extreme difficulties, we are in this together, we are in the same boat waiting for answers - for a cure or a vaccine or the best way to live and maintain a healthy state of mind.

Since the moment I realized this was a terrible time, I started to look for ways to have "happy moments". At the beginning of this ordeal, maybe a few weeks after March 16, I made a video on the patio of my former house. I was embracing the moment, feeling the fresh air in my face, listening to the sound of the leaves on the palm trees as they were dancing with the breeze. That was indeed a happy moment.

I look through the kitchen window of the place I live now, and I can see the ocean, another happy moment. I watched my granddaughters playing with the sand in front of the ocean after months of been mostly inside the house - happy moment. A few weeks later, going to the beach was not an option again due to the increase of COVID cases in Puerto Rico, but at least I had that moment.

I look for things to be grateful for, even the smallest ones, and it helps a lot. Instead of focusing on what I don't have, I keep thinking about the good things I have. Instead of thinking about how long it might take until we are back to "normal," I focus on the present moment.

This long time in quarantine made me realize, again, that creating art and products from my art makes my soul shine. Added to that, I found a long lost love - crafts with fabric, this time with my own fabric.

When I get orders in the mail with my art on the fabric panels and yards of fabric with my designs on them, those are happy moments. Thinking of ways to let people use my designs to make their own projects makes me smile. I am finding myself inspired and eager to wake up in the morning to enjoy my day.

This week I received some of those fabric panels that make me happy. I am sharing a few of them, plus a mock-up of a pouch you can make with these panels and some new pillow covers. These and more designs are ready to buy in my Etsy store here.