We face a unique health crisis that most of us in the U.S. have never experienced to this degree before. We are all on a journey, and not all the stops along the way are up to us. Allowing ourselves to touch fear and feel its heat and possibly inhabit panic and feel its cold prickle means we are alive. The emotional rollercoaster is how humans navigate the world. It is essential to forgive ourselves for being human.
An important part of the journey for me is to remember that even in the direst of circumstances we have choices. Many of us are beyond lucky with the ability to shelter at home, work from home and so on. Many are not, and my heart goes out to them, yet I refuse to be consumed by worry—a useless cycle of negative energy. This is a time we must follow the call to help each other.
Times like these are not easy when you face job loss, shelter & food challenges or other basic threats to survival. I love the outpouring of help that I see on the internet. I am sure there is also an outpouring of vitriol and hate that is being triggered too, I just try to stay away from most of that when possible. Here is what I know. I can focus on all the bad things, or all that THEY are doing wrong, or I can get busy doing the things that I think can make a positive difference in my sphere of influence.
I believe Americans rise to the challenge best in crisis, I have seen it many times. We can’t always wait for the leaders “out there” to take care of it all. We can lead with our personal choices, decisions, actions and by navigating our internal rollercoaster of emotions. We all know someone who can use our help, so reach out and take one small action to help. If you need help, reach out and ask for it.
Here are a few things I am taking on.
Checking up on friends/family; refusing to spread fear; meditating daily; getting outside daily; sharing positive information; focusing on facts vs. fanfare; laughing at silly Facebook posts; not getting wrapped up in the things that are outside of my control; doing things that are inside my influence; taking the week off from home schooling until next week; offering to share my skills virtually where/when I can; working really hard to hold all our leaders in my heart from a place of compassion versus blame/shame and disappointment; taking responsibility for my own emotions and thoughts and shifting them when the spiral of negativity accosts me; doing a few small actions or projects daily that give me a feeling of forward momentum; focusing on what I am grateful for 2X daily; planning a few meetings for next week that will keep me accountable to my business which I have mostly ignored this week, and not beating myself up for that.
Here are a few shifts that I am focused on making and I see others making as well.
Please share others that you have seen or experienced as we collectively walk through these interesting times. As was going to be asked of British citizens during WW2 if the Germans were to invade Britain …let’s all: ‘Keep Calm and Carry On.’
