Life, Interrupted: Choosing Opportunity Over Suffering
Photograph by Steve Snider
Whether on a global or personal scale, as life as we know it is disrupted — we are being called to reassess how we navigate it all
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We interrupt this regularly scheduledprogram…
I’m not going to lie. I look forward toApril all year long for many reasons — my birthday (and I’m a celebrator), my ‘baby’s’birthday (although he will be 20 this year), spring and the sense of rebirth thatemerges as Mother Nature awakens and flowers gently pop from slumber throughthe soil. It’s a welcomed time after the reprieve of winter; the hunkeringdown, the cold dark nights, the incubating. Everything wants to move; myspirit, my body, the birds, the natural world about me. Spring infuses us withnew energy, new get-up-and-go mojo in our personal lives and businesses.
It’s not supposed to be a seasonof ‘self-quarantining’ and ‘social-distancing’. Hello unexpected pandemic.
I had plans; parties, travel, a bigbusiness launch. And now look, boom. The decks have been cleared. COVID-19,you party pooper!
I took it seriously — I provisioned, gotthe college student back, stayed home, followed protocols, devised ways to staypositive and to write about silver linings. For someone who already works fromhome, it didn’t feel like a monumental shift. My work load didn’t change, butthe world around me certainly did. And it feels big…and uncertain…andvulnerable…most of all, different. I’m now referring to it as business as‘unusual’.
The other night, I painstakinglycancelled a trip to London with my Mom and sister (something we’ve beenplanning and looking forward to for a while). Bill and I temporarily pulled theplug on the launch of our upcoming online Best Self program that we’ve beenworking on for a long time. And the reality that my son is now abruptly homefor the next 6 months and finishing his sophomore year online, hit me. In themidst of all of this, I also lost someone very special to me — with no way togather, to mourn, to be together. No service. No nothing.
We are being called to show up in new ways and to figure this out.
Our norms have been disrupted and along with it many of our creature comforts, routines and traditions. It’s hitting us each differently, but hitting nonetheless. That said, I’ve seen many even touting in social media how this isn’t bothering them — as if that’s a badge of courage. I disagree.
I don’t know how you can not feelsomething, if not for yourself, for others. People are being affected greatly,many as if the rug is being pulled out from underneath them. Here’s what Ibelieve:
We can be both raw and grounded.
We can be empathetic and solid.
We can feel what is unfolding around usyet stay rooted in our own power to remain resilient and to ultimately rise.Feeling is not a weakness.
We feel what we feel. Different thingswill be triggered in each of us. Let’s not shame them or label them ‘good’ or‘bad’. They are what they are. They also are uniquely aligned with our lifejourneys and paths. I don’t have solutions for making this go away, but I dowant you to go inward and focus on what is coming up for you.
People tend to shove self-care to theside with excuses…the ‘ol, I don’t have time routine. Well, we havenothing but time right now. So, what are you going to do with it — meditate,tap, pray, do an online yoga routine?
What can you do to nurture yourselfthrough these times? If you can get outside, walk in nature. Get your feet on MotherEarth, breathe, move your body. When we clear our heads, we also create spacefor inspiration to reveal itself and land.
Can you read something that feeds you?Refrain from excessive amounts of fear-mongering news and social media. Pay attentionto how you feel while you are partaking in media consumption. Pick up a bookthat fills you in a different way.
The same goes for people. Choose toconverse with those who are open to being a part of the solution, not theproblem. Protect your energy. The other day, I ended a call with someone whowas providing me with all the doomsday outcomes. Sorry, but that’s notproductive and definitely doesn’t help my nervous system (or theirs).
Look, I get it. It’s easy to jump on thatbandwagon. Life feels tenuous. It doesn’t mean that we deny our currentrealities, we just choose to protect our energy and environment.
Choose to trust in yourself and thosearound you to navigate these new waters. Trust in your resiliency to flow withthe ever-changing landscape. Trust in your ability to extract value from thesqueeze we are all feeling.
I mentioned many of these things in myprevious blog, but they bear repeating. When we are filled with uncertaintimes, sometimes all we can do is show up and take baby steps towards the feelgood outcomes we desire. As I always say, When we shift, the world shiftswith us.
In a post I shared in social media, I wrote, “COVID-19 may be contagious, but so is hope.” There are many beautiful stories of people doing beautiful things around the world.
Remember, our humanity is our hope.
Imagine this: The Chinese sent masks to Italy and Japan donatedsupplies to China. In Wuhan, polluted skies have cleared. In Italy people aresinging to each other through open windows across balconies so no one is alone— and dolphins have been spotted swimming in the canals of Venice.
We are being called to rebalance, recalibrate, reassess — theplanet and ourselves. Yes, this virus is spreading and with it, consuming manyin fear, vulnerability and selfish behavior — but it is also cracking openhearts and communities, joining souls in beautiful ways.
We are left to ask ourselves, which way we are choosing to showup? Being of service, in whatever way we can, is such good medicine. If youhave local stores near you, buy something from someone every day. It could be abook, a coffee, a gift certificate, a bouquet of flowers. Small business ownersare trying to stay afloat and keep their employees fed. Check in on neighbors —share your supplies, shop for each other, connect. We can’t isolate in our ownbunkers amidst a mountain of toilet paper and hand sanitizer…well, we could,but our souls know better.
Bring awareness to what you want tospread. We can still be the voice of reason and diligence and do it with greatheart.
Create something. Write, paint, craft.
Clean something. Your desk, a drawer, thecloset.
Play. Dance. Pull out the board gameswith your family.
Suddenly, I’m missing so many things Itook for granted — the ability to wander into my little town whenever I neededa break from my desk, the ability to convene with friends to share a meal or adrink, the privilege to take yoga and Pilates classes, to linger and hug friendswhen we bumped into one another on the street. The list goes on. But at the endof the day, they are all the simplest of pleasures. Those are the things I’mmissing more than the cancelled trip to Europe.
And let me say, I’m not trying to wrapthe current realities into a bow of platitudes and denial. I know this is veryreal across the globe and it’s effecting us all differently. But I do know, howwe choose to experience it is critical. You do have the power within you tonavigate it with less suffering. I promise.
Yes, there is a wave of fear amongst us, but I’m choosing not to ride it.
And I wanted to check in and touch base with your to remind you that you needn’t either. Your Best Self is summoning you to show up — to find your own ways to be a part of the rebalancing of the planet. Don’t resist. Persist.
Sure I want a bunch of ‘do-overs’ when this is all done. I want a birthday party. I want to reschedule my travel plans. I want to hug and squeeze my friends. But for now, I’m sinking into surrender and trust. Will you ride that wave with me? Stay healthy. Stay centered and strong. And know that you are beloved, my precious Best Self Community. Don’t let the disruptions keep your beautiful spirit down!
Tell me how you are experiencing these times. What’s coming up and what are you doing differently to ride your wave? Share with us in the comments below so we can all come out of our quarantine and experience a virtual hug.