Turning tragedy into transformation through COVID-19
It’s arrived, the thing we have all been waiting for; doomsday, from the plague in the 1300’s to the Spanish flu, from Y2K to the turning of the clock in 2012, it’s the end of the world as we know it. Mother Nature has once again shown up to settle her scores. We are afraid to go outside, hug each other, touch a can of beans at the store. It’s eerie isn’t it, walking down the street with people wearing masks, gloves, avoiding each other at all costs. Surely something we will never forget, nor should we.
I am not a scientist, philosopher, or doctor. I don’t claim to know anything about how this begun or when it is going to end, or the inter-workings of the virus. However, I am an optimist and a true believer that everything happens with purpose and that there are no coincidences, especially when it comes to the acts of nature.
We as individuals are the microcosm of the macrocosm that is our world, that is our planet. What exists inside of us at this time, fear and suffering, is just a minute expression of what our planet is experiencing. It is hurting, not only physically, but energetically and consciously, we have forgotten the true nature of what it means to be alive. We go throughout our days spinning on the hamster-wheel of consumerism and pleasing everyone but ourselves. We eat crap, we numb ourselves with screens, we scroll aimlessly comparing ourselves to photoshopped pictures of people we don’t know. We inject poison into our body to look a certain way that someone deemed beautiful, drink ourselves to oblivion, engage in detrimental self-talk, we hardly rest, we avoid simply sitting still and silent in fear of what might come up from the depths of our minds. We are never enough. We unknowingly hurt by not enjoying the moment and the beauty that lies within it. It is time to heal, and this pandemic is a path back to normalcy or to something even greater.
Without bypassing the fact that this is a colossal tragedy and that millions of innocent people around the world have suffered greatly, there is a silver lining.
What we need is a new normal. It is the smallest shift in our mindset that will transform our entire lives.
Progress looks like…
- We learn through isolation about the importance of connection.
- When we visit grandma we smell the homemade cookies and ask her to tell us stories about her life, we listen, we really listen.
- We close our eyes when we hug a friend or family member, we hold on tight. We tell them how happy we are that they are in our lives.
- In nature, we absorb and feel the warmth of the sun on our skin that gives us life. We consciously breathe in the air from the trees.
- We put down our phones.
- We walk into our favorite restaurant and we eat a little slower giving our body time to absorb and taste the food with a new palette of appreciation for the person who made it for us with love.
- We enjoy the conversations and the laughter that surround us as we sip tea at our favorite coffee shop.
- We travel, oh how we will travel to new places and recognize the borders between us are made up anyways – we are all the same.
- We help people in need, we donate our time, our energy, we show up for each other without expecting anything in return.
- We use less, we do less. We live more.
- We cultivate a loving and kind relationship with ourselves and release all things that no longer serve us or make us feel small.
- Heath on a micro and macro level becomes our priority, and we never again take for granted waking up at the start of a new day.
In essence, we must find an affinity for the little things. We should experience the present moment as an ever unveiling gift wrapped up in a thousand shiny bows of opportunity. We begin to recognize that the hardships, the pain, and the suffering that we will inevitably encounter are absolutely essential to develop the tools for us to learn, grow and return home to ourselves for recollection. We love just a little bit more and are part of the movement that heals the world from one shift in perspective to the next.
We are all in this pandemic together, but what we have failed to see is that we have always been in this life together as well. Let’s start again now, together at last.