Six weeks of lockdown behind in Malaga, staying totally inside of the house. After a month I was thinking, where did that month go? What did I do? As the days and weeks have disappeared, and the eternal flow of minutes is the only moment we have, I decided to stop and contemplate my life. I asked myself some questions that I want to share with you now.
Please, put everything extra away and concentrate here and now. Take a comfortable seating posture, relax your body and connect on your breath.
HOW ARE YOU? I want to ask you first the question that I ask myself every morning. How are you? How do you feel? Just sit and feel yourself for a while, try to feel deeply how do you feel. Are you tired, well, relaxed, busy, hungry, tensed, how do you feel now? I think most of us have gone through quite same cycle of feelings since the beginning of this period, and still our feelings may vary during the day.
I can tell you – at the moment I’m quite tired and bored of being inside, and last two weeks I was really anxious and wanted to go out to the nature – to walk nearby the sea and hear the sound of the waves.
But I cannot, we cannot, and I have to accept it. I have to stay at home, and more anxious or bored I am, worse I feel. One more week inside and we could go for a walk, we just heard these great news.
I decided to change my mood, my attitude, and try to switch myself to better “channel”. So, I ask you if there is a slight chance to adjust and uplift your feelings from the moment you wake up? Open the window, admire the sunrise and nature, meditate? Make an intention for the day. It helped me to go through these days at home.
It does not mean that we should be happy all the time but trying not to let mood and feelings turn the spiral inwards. Sure, our mood and feelings are real but mostly made by our thoughts, and they can be modified. It is worth trying.
WHAT DO YOU DO? Then I would like ask you: What do you do? What have you done today, during last 24 hours? What did you do yesterday? Or last week? Reflect your day, days, and weeks. Have you been keeping yourself busy, working, practicing, cooking, chatting, or have you dropped into the dullness and boredom, sleeping too much and being lazy, abusing media and games and tv? Think about it.
After the first shock, maybe we all were consuming news and social media too much, which made us feel bad, sad, anxious, miserable. It’s better to limit the extra “corona” news and save time for more relaxing activities.
I found myself very busy, especially in the morning, and stressed during the first weeks, as if I were running to work and having a lot to do, until I recognized that it is stupid. I have time! I have 24 hours per day, seven days a week, next weeks, and maybe next month!
In the morning I try to figure out what do I do today. What are my main tasks? What is the most important thing to do? Let these decisions quide you and help to profit of doing and non-doing.
Also, it is helpful to do a daily program, and try to follow it, living “normal life” but inside. We can feel grateful of all online practices, meetings, yogas, meditations. Probably we will continue working from home few more weeks (or a month) it is a great chance to learn new things, to use some online events, do something new, practice, study, or refresh old skills. Rest enough, pause, bring calmness and mindfulness to your day. Now, and after this period, and stop stressing if not being efficient and willing.
What about doing things more mindfully, slowly, wisely, as you have time. During the day take a pause, breath, return to this moment. Think about it, why and how do you do things, do you repeat your old busy manners where your mind pushes you? It takes time to learn new habits so why not start now.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Then I would like to ask you: What do you think? How is your state of mind? What kind of thoughts do you have? What do you think about the future?
Contemplate your mind. How is it? Do you have fear of your or your family’s health, of losing something? Are you anxious about the future, or are you confident, planning new things and feeling trustful? Surely also your thoughts and your mind have gone through a whole colorful scale, and it’s natural, as we are surrounded of these news of death, unemployment, problems, and insecurity of the future.
Time. We have time. So you have a wonderful opportunity to stop and contemplate yourself, your lifestyle, your thoughts, work, relationships, business, visions, direction, all what is important to you, and think about what if you could fix it somehow, what needs to be fixed.
What if you could leave unnecessary behind, and adjust to the new situation and to the future, which certainly will be different in many ways.
In challenging times there may raise many questions and doubts about your life. What is important? I found it useful to stop and concentrate on how to develop my life, and how to remove and extract all extra, vain and unnecessary away. Could you reflect your values and beliefs of the future? Is there something to adjust and improve in your state of mind and visions? Think about it. Stop, pause, reflect, see, understand.
NO MUD, NO LOTUS. How to “take benefit” this time during pandemia sounds really egoistic but the purpose is opposite. This idea comes from Buddhism, and lotus is a symbol of purity, which have roots in a muddy water. The mud represents our messy human lives, experiences, stress, suffering, all that we have to break free to bloom, be happy and see clearly again. Mud stays, lotus flourishes.
Now we have a beautiful opportunity to pause, breath and reflect; maybe adapt new ways of doing, feeling and thinking. We have a chance to expand our self-awareness, and widen our consciousness. We do not have to reborn but maybe create a bit better version of ourselves.
We have time and chance to do it by using our wisdom, insight, mindfulness, and meditation to get to know our inner self better. To grow, to find our true self, to have faith on ourselves for more harmonious and balanced life.
It helps us to maintain and cultivate hope and trust in life, whatever it may bring. It makes you strong.
NOTE: You are the master of your body, feelings, and mind. Use your wisdom and your heart for the future.
The future happens already now inside of you.
