Hidden Opportunities
in the Time of the Coronavirus:
Breathing, resting, and visioning new ways of Being in our lives.
So here we are, in the midst of a pandemic.
Could you have ever imagined such a thing!?
Not me!
A tiny little virus has brought humanity to its knees and sent it to its room!
Perhaps we are in a sort of “time out”, to reflect on some changes we must make ...
I still find it challenging at times to wrap my mind around the reality of this. What about you?!
I feel very fortunate that none of my immediate family has so far been too adversely affected, but there is also a continual hum of concern for others – for humanity as a whole. For those of you struggling health wise, or have a family member who is struggling or perhaps has been lost, or are threatened financially, I truly send you my deepest prayers that you will find new strength and clarity from this terribly trying time.
And even though I have not yet been personally too adversely affected, I am also aware of a feeling of tension and uncertainty regarding how this is going to affect my life / our lives, going forward.
So many things that at this moment have no answers.
But I am also incredibly aware of the opportunities hidden in this bizarre, unexpected experience.
One of the biggest opportunities I see hidden within the pandemic is an invitation to
“vision” the next phase in my life.
What I want to bring out or accomplish on a personal and professional level; what I want to experience internally in terms of ever-greater inner connectedness, serenity and love; how I want my relationships to look and feel and what I can do to contribute in positive ways and nurture them; what I hope to experience or learn “externally”, through travel, home life, friendships, work, classes, etc. .
“Visioning” is basically the same thing as “visualization”, but for me, the concept of visioning is deeply connected with how I can align my desires with the Greater Power’s will for me. It starts out with what I “want”, but it becomes fine-tuned by my ability to sense what truly is in my best interests in terms of what I need to perhaps shift in my thinking and actions to live with greater love for myself and others, or where I need to get stronger in some aspect of my internal or external life.
It is when my own desires are aligned with this Greater Power – which I call “Life” and you can call and conceive of any way that works best for you – that not only do I feel deeply peaceful and engaged in my life, but I am also gently led along into ever more fulfilling levels of internal and external wellbeing and abundance of love, time, and yes, even material goods and money.
This is a life-changing time, a window of potential real change, not just for us as individuals, but as a species. Generally speaking, as humans we don’t really become willing to grow and change unless we are shocked into doing so; many of us know this from personal experience!
The fact that we are all going through this together right now – almost 8 billion of us – makes one wonder what we are being asked to learn on a collective level.
I am not sure if any one person has any definitive answers about this, but I do know that our individual efforts to grow in our own ability to love our lives and to love others translate into more wellbeing for everyone involved. This is true in the best of times, and it is true in the most challenging and difficult as well.
My sense is that Humanity is being asked to really up its ability to love itself and the planet we live on.
As many of us already know, loving oneself does not mean some kind of sloppy, sentimental feeling. It is not self-indulgence or selfishness.
Love of Self is about realizing that our lives have purpose and we are important. We came into the world with incredibly unique experiences, talents and gifts and we are here to develop them and share them with others in ways that are healthy for us.
It seems to me that many of us are in great personal crisis, and perhaps have been for a while.
So many people today in Western society are depressed, anxious, dissatisfied with their lives. We are stressed out, overtired, burned out; yet we continue striving for goals that just don’t feel satisfying.
We are carrying wounds that don’t seem to heal; we feel disconnected, depressed, and anxious. And yet, we keep pushing, sometimes racing along …
Until along comes the coronavirus, and makes us
STOP.
We are being forced to reflect on how we have been living, on what is truly meaningful to us. Stories are flooding the news and social media of people spending time to connect with loved ones they haven’t spoken to for years, via video technology; all kinds of people are stepping up to help others in all kinds of ways.
Even the planet is benefitting: air and water pollution levels have dropped dramatically, all over the globe.
It’s as if everyone and everything, including the Earth, is finally managing to take a deep breath, after decades of being more and more suffocated by the rush and hurry of our industrialized life, and the toxins we are producing and pumping into this magnificent living ecosystem.
And while I certainly don’t want to underestimate the kind of suffering that many are experiencing, it is simply very striking that we have all been brought to a halt, at the same time.
We are being asked to reexamine many things and ask ourselves if once the virus is brought under control and we can return to “normal” life, what are we going to do?
Will we just rush back into our old ways of living (if we can)?
And if we can, do we want to?
Or is there something we want to change?
All the great sages throughout history, including Albert Einstein, as in the quote I shared above – have taught that we must be able to imagine something for it to become a reality. We need to be able to “see” it in our mind, and also feel it in our bodies (as I often help people do in my work).
This is true for individuals, families, larger communities, businesses, countries – and the entire planet. And thanks to our rapidly advancing technology that allows us to connect and communicate across great distances in real time, we are beginning to see that many of us have very similar dreams and desires, for ourselves and for the planet.
Antonio Mercurio, in his Cosmo Art Axiom #1 (you can read about the Cosmo Art Theorems and Axioms in this book ) states:
There is no creation without imagination.
But for us to have a healthier and happier family, community, nation or planet, we need to start with ourselves.
It is an “inside job”: no one can infuse us with the ability to live a truly love-centered life from the outside.
We have to develop it within ourselves first of all.
And to do that, we need to first imagine what a life that feels really good for us will look and feel like.
Life is always moving us towards ever more complex forms of expression and Becoming – often through crisis, conflict and strife – and when we can understand that our suffering may actually be a doorway, beckoning us to new levels of self-realization and expression, we can embrace the pain, rather than run from it, deny it, stuff it down, or any other of the many ways we try to avoid it!
So let’s do an exercise together:
take out a piece of paper and a pen, colored pencils, paints, or whatever, and let your imagination run free for a moment.
Think of the life you desire:
What does it look like, in terms of daily actions, where you live, and who with?
What would it feel like? How do you want to feel? Peaceful? Excited about facing each day?
Try to imagine all the various aspects of life as you would want it to be, and write about them, draw pictures, or paint them.
Even if – especially if! – something seems extremely unlikely or “impossible”, write it down, or put out a color to represent it!
You do not have to be an artist to do this as a drawing or painting exercise: use whatever approach feels like the most fun and allows your imagination to run free.
The important thing is to actually put it out on paper somewhere, and not just let it keep on wandering through your mind. Imagination on a mental level is perfectly fine, but I am sure you will notice a real difference between just “thinking” about these things, and actually sitting down and writing about them or drawing them.
Start with your individual life, and then expand it to include your life with your partner, family, community, country … and the entire planet!
What are your dreams for yourself, your loved ones, all of humanity, the globe?
Have fun with this! You don’t have to be perfect – and the more often you do this, the more it will feel like fun.
The secret is to let your imagination go, knowing that if you have a dream, you can move towards the realization of that dream. It may not drop in your lap overnight – although sometimes it might! – but the clearer you get about what you really want to experience and express in your life, the more you will find the courage and the resources you need to move towards it.
I have had example after example of this in my life, and the more I have allowed myself to really feel what I WANT, not what I am conditioned to want, or do, or be, the more my life has unfolded in amazing ways.
So – I hope you’ll enjoy this idea for using some of your time in quarantine … on Earth Day, which also just happens to land on a New Moon (known to be a good time to envision new goals and projects) and take good care of yourself, and Love yourself a little bit more, every day, ok?
With love,
