If we make it out alive it might just be the best thing that ever happened to us… if we let it.
In this life there is so much distraction, we are never truly still. If there’s a pause in the day we fill it. Had a long day, relaxing on the couch and guess what, fill it with a show or a movie or stare mindlessly at social media.
I have spent years learning meditation techniques and nothing has worked to drive me into the present like Covid-19. I’m gaining a growing appreciation for some of the byproducts of this time. Mind you I have maintained serious social distancing and neither myself or my family has been sick, thank God.
What I have done, in an attempt to seize the moment and make some god damn lemonade out of lemons is embrace this uncomfortable space I find myself in. I’m sitting with myself in a way I have been asking for, for years but if I’m honest with myself I have been avoiding it my whole life.
Now I can’t interrupt my day, going out for dinner and drinks or even playing squash. I’m home and any distraction I have, I have to create for myself. As I slowly embrace what’s happening I’ve been consciously creating less distraction and what’s left is so still, silent and powerful.
My creativity has returned and is showing up in a way I never knew was possible. I’ve been able to slow down enough to see my patterns that have been so subconscious, I’ve been asleep at the wheel for years. I’ve just been going through life adding in stimulation to avoid deeper feelings and thoughts. What has come up for me in this stillness is a lot of emotion, not gonna lie. Now, instead of drinking or sweating it out, I’m sitting with it and watching it dissolve, allowing a new level of wellness to emerge.
At the start, in March, I lost my father unrelated to the rona though heartbreaking nonetheless. An interesting twist as we weren’t able to bury him properly or mourn with family and friends. Instead, I was forced into a very introspective mourning of my father, feeling the waves of the good and the bad. Embracing it all and coming out the other side, just what my father would have wanted. At another time I might have not ever taken this time to process causing all kinds of buried emotion that eventually would have manifested physically.
It’s like looking at my life under a microscope and adding a layer of intention which for me has directly translated into productivity, working smarter not harder and success. Not to mention I’m feeling lighter and more free than ever. Ironic I know because I’m still basically trapped in my house.
If you were to tell me last year this time that I would step away from construction and steamfitting, move to a farm in the country, finally pursue my creative passion of sharing my cooking with the world via media AND produce and sell my all purpose spice blend, I would have told you you’re fucking nuts.
But here I am, I even have grown to like a cat, never even cared about them before.
If I can leave you with any inspiration from my last year it’s don’t wait. You really do only live once and by making things a little uncomfortable that usually is where the growth will show up. This is a massive opportunity for the consciousness of our society, we’ve already seen this in the return and healing of the earth during this quiet time. The world shut down. So much power to pull from and it’s there for the taking should you choose to see it.
Lets wake up, life is fragile and we need to give ours the best fighting chance. Mind, body and spirit. Take care of these temples and they will take care of you, letting you feel the deeper meaning behind the why.
Join me in stepping back out into the world eyes wide open.
Peace and blessings. One love.
