In The Midst Of Chaos, Channy Leaneagh Of Poliça Is Doing The Next Right Thing

Our Daily Breather is a series where we ask writers and artists to recommend one thing that's helping them get through the days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Who: Channy Leaneagh

Where: Minneapolis, Minn.

Recommendation: Doing the next right thing

I'm finding it helpful in these uncertain, isolating and anxious times that moving slowly and thoughtfully is helpful to calm my nerves. When I wake up I no longer have to rush my kids to school because our school is at home now. I have the time to get dressed, put lotion on, make my bed, stretch and breathe (qi gong!); fold my pajamas. I am listening to my kids when they talk without distraction. We are filling our days with learning, leisure, movement and forced calm. I don't have a job anymore and that is the case for so many of us.

I'm thinking about what we will do when we get sick, and planning for that, but there is a lot we can't plan for. The best advice I can follow right now is "just do the next right thing" — I think this is from Frozen 2. For us, those right things are reading fiction and historical books about people going through extreme challenges and overcoming them. We're also FaceTiming and calling friends and family once a day to hear how other people are getting through the day and managing their fears.

My husband and I are making sure certain things are part of the daily schedule: comedy (Monty Python nights with the kids), learning (finally getting to try the homeschool dream I've always wondered about for my kids), self-improvement (looking into going back to acupuncture school, which I've dreamed of for years) and love, LOVE, LOVE! (holding my kids, trading back rubs with my husband, making good food together with what we have in the house, and looking for ways to help our neighbors in need). My 11 year old daughter keeps doodling "LOVE ALWAYS WINS" on all her school work. I keep seeing that and it crushes my cynicism and fear of our future; she is holding on to that and so must I.

Channy Leaneagh is the frontperson for Poliça. The band recently released its fifth album, When We Stay Alive.

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