Tuesday, May 19, 2020
By the time this article comes out we will be in about day 57 of our social distancing.
All of us have had moments or days of fear, doubt, worry, anger, loneliness, boredom, frustration and sadness. Our lives have changed and it is completely normal that we experience difficult emotions. And, we all have days where we feel hopeful, positive, happy, joyful, creative, connected, calm and at ease.
This time at home has given us the opportunity to contemplate more, and to reflect more. I am so curious about what practices people have to anchor themselves in hope. Hope for themselves, for their family, for the community and for the planet. What are the things that are helping people stay connected to their hearts, a feeling of love and hope, and returning to that space when the challenging emotions arise.
There is no question that when we are feeling a sense of connection, calm, quiet, peace, acceptance and gratitude that we will respond to and deal with challenging circumstances more effectively. Years ago someone said to me, drop the story and pay attention to the energy. How does the energy of hope or peace and quiet feel when it circulates in your body. How does the energy of fear, anger or sadness feel when it circulates? It is one thing to be aware of the fear or the sadness, but it is a whole other thing to have the tools work with the emotions.
There are so many great online resources right now that are available for free to help everyone navigate this time. In this community there are yoga classes, meditation classes and church gatherings being offered for free online. They are a great way to maintain a sense of connection and inspiration. Another gift of this time is that many leading teachers from around the world are offering classes online for free. If you search out Eckhart Tolle, Tara Brach or Jack Kornfield you will find some really excellent resources to help you feel grounded, connected and hopeful.
I recently watched a talk on YouTube from Carolyn Myss called “The world is going to start over.”
Carolyn is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition. In this talk Carolyn speaks about when she walked the El Camino in Spain, the thousand-year-old pilgrimage path. She shares a beautiful reflection about the power of people moving and supporting each other and move forward together. She acknowledges the power of radical prayer and using it regardless of whether you believe in god or not. She believes there is something greater than us governing our lives and it will get us through this challenging time, just as it did after the Second World War.
What we all have right now is what is in us, and what is ahead of us. We all have the ability to hold hope, help each other and look at new ways of living and being. Pablo Neruda says “You can pick all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.” The earth will renew itself, and so will we. There is hope.