An ancient Chinese curse said “may you live in interesting times”. When I first heard this, I felt some resistance against the idea. I wanted to live an interesting life, so how could this be a curse? Delving into the true meaning of this statement led me to discover that so-called “dull” times were often associated with peaceful eras–and those that were interesting referred to crisis, opposition, war, and disaster.
Enter 2020, and now 2021. The entire human race has experienced the pressures, stress, isolation, frustration, and fear of the coronavirus pandemic. As I write this in Canada cases are still rising as we mount our vaccination program. Many of us are more than ready to move forward, rushing to get our vaccines, and rushing to get some sense of normalcy in our lives. There seems to be a collective sense of urgency. We want to move from a place of stillness to a place of activity.
Some of this yearning for action stems from the natural progression of movement from Winter to Spring. Winter provides us with a time of inner reflection and stillness. When Spring beckons our planet with the greening of the earth and the budding of new flowers, we as humans also experience this call. We naturally want to take the energy we preserved during the colder months and bring it into expression and action.
With the (hopefully soon) easing of COVID restrictions, we can honour this natural flow, but now we still need to breathe deeply and be present within ourselves to find a way to allow and transform the frustration we may be feeling. Though we are impatient to get back into community we can take this time to draw upon the trust that things will get better.
We can create some stillness within ourselves by allowing some time to be mindful, to follow the breath, and open up some space within our minds and bodies through gentle physical motion, such as yoga, Tai Qi, Qi Gong, or walking in nature. Once tapped into our inner resources, we can then move forward with awareness as opposed to blindly rushing forth, a habit which may be ingrained in many of us.
We have a choice. As I read somewhere on social media, we can come out of this pandemic with either a drinking problem or have all of our chakras cleared. Hopefully it is the latter! Even if we feel we have failed in this, it is totally okay to start exactly where you are. It is never too late. I hearten you to feel into your sense of self compassion, and forgive. You can soften your judgement and be less serious. It’s okay to be where you are, right now.
Once we have created opportunities to nurture this space inside ourselves, we can then step forward, bringing the wisdom of Winter, and even the wisdom the pandemic has given us, to our own Spring of renewal and regrowth.
I encourage you to create this stillness and to journal about what you have learned over the last year or so. I also encourage you to be gentle with yourself, and to allow yourself the time to understand what has served you and what has not. Now is the time to begin and use this wisdom to create a life where you can authentically be yourself. Dream big with your creative spirit. Understand that recovery from the pandemic, just like Spring, doesn’t come all in one day. It comes in increments until it becomes fully manifested.
I would also like to give thanks to Adriene Mishler and Reggie Hubbard for their conversion on the Find What Feels Good platform. To see this conversation, I invite you to visit https://fwfg.com/programs/adriene-mishler-reggie-hubbard-conversation-renewal
Namaste
Leave a Reply