A Spiritual Journey Amid a Pandemic
Let these COVID times and distancing be a start of a spiritual journey. For some, the journey may have already begun but, for others this could be a good beginning. Many of us are fighting against this ‘new normal’ but we can take this stressful opportunity and convert it into some positive self-gains. This came to my mind as I was sitting with my millennial daughter who like many, is juggling her work online, con calls with colleagues around the world, exercise routine, social interactions and most of all, managing a long distance relationship as she is unable to go back to her home in India due to the lockdown. We discussed channeling our thought process into a more positive mode which then can help drive our feelings, emotions, behavior and actions towards a gainful direction. After shifting our ‘hyper-focused’ pandemic obsession towards self-reflection, introspection and reframing of thoughts, the following spiritual take-aways came to our realization:
THE SLOW DOWN: Our fast-paced life has come to a sudden halt, which has forced us to readjust our daily lives and routines. Slowing down is a survival mechanism and needs to be acknowledged. We have ignored it and from time to time, this can be enforced upon us, by us, for healthy long-term physical and mental wellbeing. Working from home can be physically, psychologically and emotionally challenging, but the benefit of family bonding or having this alone-time for self-analysis can be very positive and valuable, thus superseding these challenges.
SIMPLICITY and CLARITY: From a deeper and more spiritual level, our new normal is making our lifestyles simpler, allowing time to reflect on the important aspects of our lives. Thus, providing us the clarity to think, experience and prioritize what’s meaningful to us. In this process, we can try to cut the weaker, unimportant and non-essential branches of our own metaphoric tree of life and add positive energies into making the significant, important and treasured branches stronger.
CONTROL: Living outside of the normal can be refreshing. The need for control need not dictate our lives and embracing the current situation can give a sense of liberation. This can help put our daily and future events in perspective thus, giving us the ability to enjoy living in the moment. Take a moment to reflect on some of the positives of the current situation, practice gratitude. Its debilitating to live in fear as it can manifest into anxiety. Free the self from control, fear and anxiety.
Let’s take this time to reset and refresh our mind, body and spirit. Appreciate this journey for this, too, shall pass!
Please feel free to comment and share your personal spiritual take aways through this tumultuous time.