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Hi Team,

The introduction of stage 4 restrictions this week has marked a significant milestone for us all in our collective battle with COVID 19 and the worldwide pandemic. These are the harshest restrictions so far that Australia has had to implement, and they will have severe long-term impacts on Victoria and the rest of Australia. 

It is now very clear that the only way to control the spread of this virus is for everyone to act responsibly, to follow the social distancing and personal behaviour requirements and to play their part in helping to minimize the exposure of other people to the virus. I am personally taking this situation very seriously and will be doing everything possible to make sure that my family, friends and business community strictly abide by all of the restrictions and guidelines.

This week Will (one of DDB's site managers) become quite sick and was tested for COVID. Luckily his test results were negative and he has made a swift recovery, but this was a real wake up call for me which made me realize how potentially vulnerable we all are and that things could become very bad very quickly without strict implementation of all the stage 4 requirements.

I have written before about the importance of keeping a positive mindset during difficult times and how we should all try to approach the current restrictions as an opportunity to learn something new or change something that is not working in our lives. I still feel, that as builders, we are incredibly lucky to be able to keep working, although in a very restricted fashion.  This feeling of gratitude has allowed me to remain positive so far throughout this whole COVID saga.

"The journey to happiness involves finding the courage to look inside ourselves and to take responsibility for what's there; all of it." Richard Rohr

For me, the most important thing that can help us all to successfully navigate our way through this pandemic is mindfulness. This is a topic I will be writing about over the next few weeks and it is something that can positively affect all aspects of our attitude and behaviour. Over the following weeks we should all try to have a greater awareness of how we are affecting other people,

1. By being mindful of what we are doing and how we are using our time.
2. By being mindful of how we are interacting with those around us.
3. By being mindful of what we can do to help those around us.
4. By being mindful to be compassionate to those around us.

It also helps me to understand that we are all in this together and we are all struggling financially and mentally. However, I am well aware that health care workers, families with school age children and anyone that has lost their job or their business is suffering more than ever and that these people are the real heroes of this human battle.

Thanks for reading,
Stay safe and be mindful of others.
David.