I decided to keep the weekly journals for a couple of reasons. Firstly I am quite happy to admit I do not have the brain space for longer, more thoughtful blogs and articles. I am OK with that, and I hope everyone else can be too. Lockdown shaming still seems to be happening – by which I dont mean criticisms of others for being out of the house, but instead a shaming of people for not being “productive” enough.

Our collective goal must be to survive this – that’s it, and those who judge others for not having learnt a new skill or written a book, or whatever ridiculous demand they are making are simply showing they lack empathy and are unkind

And empathy and kindness matter a hell of a lot more than writing something which will, quite frankly, be unreadable.

The second reason was to feel I was in some way marking the strange new world we live in now. Last night watching the Papal blessing given out to an ampty St Peter’s square (not because I am catholic, far more prosically I was looking for a good DJ set on Facebook live) the phrase “we are living history” came into my mind. Of course we always are, but right now it feels like everything is slightly unreal, and I know there is a lot of derealisation and depersonalisation being experienced.

The 5 senses exercise can be really useful grounding

I am taking Easter off, except for a small amount of admin today. Whilst some are complaining of boredom I am busier than usual, or rather the things I have to do seem to be taking more time and energy. However I am so aware of how lucky I am, and the huge privileges I possess. Lockdown has really brought that home to me, from my physical home, which whilst not large is large enough with a garden, to my psychological home, which contains people who I can always turn to and rely on, including mentors and my wonderful supervisor. I am also able to continue my springwatch posts, which you can find on Twitter under #springwatchwithkaz or on my Facebook page.

Part of my busyness was because I chose to attend a workshop last week with Mick Cooper on relational depth. It was quite amazing, a deep dive into one of the most fundamental concepts of humanistic counselling, and a vital reminder that it is when we are our most human that we do our best work.

I have been really struck this week by the fact that we all have to find the way through this that works for us, and have an understanding that other peoples ways may differ from our ways. There isnt a right way to feel, some people are feeling less stress, others more, for some lockdown has removed anxieties, whilst some are now locked in with abusers.

There is no universal truth of lock down, no overriding theme, instead there are millions and millions of stories, unique to each one of us.

Lastly may I wish all who celebrate a very happy Easter – a story of hope seems very welcome today