Dear Precious Ones,
Here we are. At a crossroads.
Things are opening up. Stores. Rec centers. Gyms. Work places. Beaches. Parks.
So tempting to just jump back in to all those things we've been missing.
So tempting to just hurry back to 'normal'.
But I find myself hesitating. Not knowing. Uncertain.
About so many things.
Firstly, of course, what is safe? For me? For others? For those I love and may come into contact with?
But just as importantly, what do I really want my new 'normal' to look like?
This time has provided us all with an amazing opportunity to really look at our lives. To become acutely aware of just which parts of our lives are most important to us. Which people. Which activities. Which ways of being.
And I don't know about you, but I don't want to return to everything I was doing before.
I don't want to return to all the busy-ness and running from this place to the other, all day, every day, endless commitments - even if most of them were enjoyable activities!
I have loved the spaciousness of this time. The time at home. The time in my garden, with the plants and the trees and the bunnies and the bees.
I have loved taking my daily walk by the woods, watching it unfold from winter into spring, meeting neighbors I didn't even know I had, becoming intimately familiar with a landscape I had barely visited before - and which lay waiting outside my door.
I have loved the time and space to contemplate my life more deeply. The opportunity to open my heart to deeper sharing with both friends and those whom I serve as a teacher and mentor. To allow myself vulnerability. To open to Love.
Now, I know that my circumstances are not the same as yours may be. In many ways - even though economically this pandemic caused a major disruption in my life - I have had it easy. I live alone so it has been relatively easy to self-isolate. I have meaningful work and was able to take enough things online to survive the financial hit - at least in the short term. The work I do provided me with instant purpose at a time when that was sorely needed. I have nourishing relationships with others I have been able to deepen using online platforms. I have ongoing and rich spiritual practices that have allowed me to navigate the challenges of this time with some kind of grace - most days, anyway.
All this has sustained me during this time and allowed me to find relief from the stresses we have all known. Even pleasure and enjoyment a lot of the time.
For many, I know, it has been much more difficult. My heart goes out to each and every one of you - especially if your circumstances - whether mental, emotional, financial, physical or other - have made this an especially difficult and challenging time.
But in truth, we can all benefit from a bit of reflection as we contemplate how best to move forward.
To pause for a moment to really think about our lives and what we want them to look like before we just jump back into the next thing.
To recognize the amazingness of this life. The beauty of it all.
The miraculousness of it all.
And to ask ourselves: How do I want to live in a way that honors this miracle?
The quote above came from a very short clip of a talk by activist Julia Butterfly Hill. I've included it below and highly recommend it. Such a deeply inspiring and empowering way to think - and to view this life.
And such an important question for us all. Every day.
But especially this day.
May you live your life in love, from love, and with love - for this life, for your own beautiful, sweet, caring being - and for each other,
Cindy