Thanks to the Internet, our neighborhoods have expanded to include the entire globe.  Let’s continue to make personal connections in our PIlates communities.

That’s the question I’ve been asking myself over the last few days as I continue to work with my online PIlates community.  My friends are worried about their businesses, my kids are quietly scared – concerned for me, their dad, their grandparents, and their friends. These are big concerns that affect us all, and there is so much. So much information, so much fear, just.so.much. 

 And all I can think about is:

For those of you who don’t know Fred Rogers was the creator and host kids show in the U.S. – Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood which aired from 1968 – 2001.  It was a staple in my house. 

Every episode, a softspoken man and his puppet friends would teach us about being kind, dealing with our big feelings and how to handle the overwhelming issues that we experienced every day.  King Friday, Lady Aberlin, X the Owl, and Daniel Striped Tiger tackled the feelings and experiences of death, divorce, disease and other overwhelming situations children often silently observed.  He taught tolerance, kindness, and empathy by example and let us know that struggle and failure weren’t just ok, but to be celebrated as learning experiences that will enrich our lives.

So now, in the time of COVID I’m asking myself, what would Mr. Rogers do?

He would be one of the helpers. Helping to calm our fears, leading us to be good neighbors and guiding us to share our unique gifts with the world. 

So how can we be helpers? 

We can check in on our friends and neighbors. Spend extra time with our kids. Play board games and let them know that even though this is unusual, there can be some benefits.  We can drop off the extra loaf of bread we’ve baked with the kids on someone’s doorstep to let them know they’re not alone. We can support the other small businesses in our area by ordering take out when we can afford it, having our groceries delivered from the local farmer’s co-op or butcher shop.

We can help our fellow Pilates teachers get their PIlates businesses online once we’ve figured it out ourselves, gather for online communal mat classes, or just hang out and share what’s working and what’s not while we do build our Pilates businesses at home.

We can connect with family and friends over video chat for virtual cocktail hours and stay connected with our PIlates business partners and acquaintances. We can offer our services and connect in whatever way is comfortable, either person by person or via social media.  And we can ask for help for ourselves as we need it.

Thanks to the internet, our neighborhoods have expanded to include the entire globe.  Let’s continue to make personal connections in our PIlates communities. Offer a mat class, or even just space to hang out so we can get to know each other beyond the posts, likes and comments on social media and continue to ask, what would Mr. Rogers do?

Everyone, stay safe stay well, and please post any ideas you might have to help your PIlates community in the comment section.  It really takes a village…..

Karen