Shut In: Dreams of Tomorrow - COVID-19
In the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, one of the world's greatest crisis’, there may just be salvation. Or at least, so the positive side of the brain would have me believe.
The silence. The solitude. The concern about what happens next? These are all great teachers: challenging the core of our beliefs, rocking the foundation of our hopes and dreams; plundering our plans for the future.
Life is what happens....right? We all know the old cliché.
My vast imagination, gifted to me at birth and nurtured by my upbringing; the nurturing of my art - that imagining shows me, clearly, a future where this disruption has created a beautiful, more prosperous, more connected and compassionate world.
But, how do we all get from here, today; to there, tomorrow?
In writing on a friends' post on Facebook the other day, I expounded on the feelings of isolation and yes, probably a bit of depression that I have been struggling with. Knowing in my intellectual brain that this respite from the chaotic world outside what "was" my life, is the perfect time for introspection; art, music, writing, personal growth and learning.
Yet, embracing this forced opportunity is difficult.
Some days, I want to sleep, to read, to watch TV; to forget that the world outside exists without making any positive connection to myself in the world "inside" my psyche. Almost as if I am allowing myself to "disconnect" from me, as well as, everything else.
This is not the intellectual part of my mind driving this "unplugging". It is the sensitive, artist self who wants to jump from the sad elements of this present into a beautiful future I can see, feel and imagine.
My intellectual brain knows this is cheating. That we cannot skip through the unpleasant steps and go directly to the happy ending. Real stories don't work that way.
We need to follow the advice of Ben Harpers' beautiful ballad and "Be Here Now".
But, how?
Some simple ways in which I have found to stay connected to the positive; to the inspirational and to feed your future hopes & dreams for yourself, your family, friends, community and business are as follows:
REMEMBER TO DREAM - often, unrealistically, and with absolute abandon!
WRITE IT ALL DOWN - now, more than ever, write your dreams, your thoughts, your feelings; create the world you want to see in words, and start manifesting it into reality!
MAKE A TIMELINE - start with the recent past; through the present; and into the future; a journal of daily inspirations or ideas can help this process, immensely.
SET SMALL GOALS - make them "bite-sized" pieces that you can swallow even on the worst of days and reward yourself with a "pat on the back" for accomplishing each one; when the big achievements come....plan a huge, homemade celebration!
GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! - no self castigation; we are all going to have days during this crisis where we want to make like wounded animals, sulk off into a corner and lick our wounds 'til we heal...it is OK to feel that way...a bit!
This last one is the most important! DO: Give yourself a break! It cannot be repeated enough. The world is in the midst of the worst crisis in decades, and we all need to stop; breathe in; hold; breathe out; repeat as often as is necessary to allow ourselves the space to feel sad, angry, disappointed, rejected, hurt, lost...
The key is DO NOT WALLOW IN THAT NEGATIVE FEELING! Definitely, capitalized for emphasis. We all need to allow space for our anger and grief; validate the negative feelings that are consuming us all, but try very hard not to stay in that space for long.
As in the practice of meditation:
Recognize and accept your feelings
Visualize them as clouds floating before you in the sky
Let the gentle winds move them away and allow them to disappear...
We need to let the negative thoughts and feelings float away from us, gently, but firmly. Replacing our thoughts, our actions, etc. with any/all of the positive replacements we can muster. Even if they are simple. Even if they require little energy.
It is enough to sit outside, lift your face to the sun and think, "...Today, the sun soaks warmth into my skin. Winter is waning. I am so thankful for the season of spring, and the blooming that is happening now; the fresh scents in the air; the birds singing; that nature is continuing her cycle..."
It is that easy.
And, that hard. For we as human beings are hard-wired to cling to what is familiar; the fear, the anxiety, the 24 hour news cycle with it's spin and sensationalism...the devastating news of the world...
Turn it off, and practice turning on your positivity. Hope will see us through.
And, who knows, you may even come up with a crazy idea or two while in isolation that will revolutionize the world....or maybe, just your small, and very important part of it!
Stay home! Stay safe! Stay connected! We are all going to be needed when this disruptive time, as well, has floated away on the clouds...
Remember, tomorrow is right around the corner!
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
― Rainer Maria Rilke