Hello July 2020! Who would have believed that the entire world would be grappling with Coronavirus for so many months?
| Source: Ray Hennessy on Unsplash |
Think about this. We have been socially distancing ourselves, staying safely at home for months altogether, watching kids grow up with digital classes and finding ways to wear face masks creatively! A tough phase for you too!
My world, as I knew it, is no more.
While the old order of the external world has collapsed, we awaken within to a new world with baby steps. When this is hitting us so hard, how about looking at some heartwarming moments too?
On Twitter, a heartwarming tweet by Joe Howard on his father's birthday read like this, "This is my dad. With my mum, he adopted four children. Instrumental in saving the native oyster off Essex coast. Health is not great. On chemo tablets. But he still works."
The response to this tweet was amazing! Full of positive energy from people across the world.
People from across the world responded to this simple tweet and wishes kept pouring in.
What does this show us?
While the world has suffered bleak moments, the inner world has shifted in a huge way.
We are tuning into our inner light even as we confront our shadows and look at humanity with a renewed understanding of oneness.
Let me share my journey with you.
During this time, I got a lot of negative stuff coming my way. I am sure you don't like being deceived, lied to and being exploited by someone you cared deeply about. That is what happened to me.
We, as adults, tend to feel safe in the company of friends we grew up with. Sometimes we let their lives and judgment cloud our own decisions because we trust them without question. We learn life's bitter lessons through experience.
In case you don't know, we all have these emotional triggers that we are usually unaware of. These triggers can set us off like ticking time bombs that simply explode.
We don't always trust our gut feel because we pay more attention to our egos.
Everyone has a trigger.
Simply put, all of us engage with emotional triggers differently in life. The best thing to do is to get curious about our emotional triggers rather than react to it.
Lisa Ray, in her memoirs, sums it up: "Observe. Don't absorb."
So, what did I learn about staying positive and calm during these few months?
1. Forgive yourself. Take deep breaths
At one point, I really lost my cool. I am not proud of it.
What could I have done instead? A deep breath.
This really helps when you are feeling pressure from all sides. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly.
Allow your complete focus to be on your breath.
You will feel your mind and body to be completely relaxed.
Let yourself feel nothing at all but the awareness of breath.
I can feel my mind and body relax when I take deep breaths.
Kate says, "We walk into a breath with no expectation and leave transformed with the reminder, that we can be here now."
2. Name your emotions
This is a magic key which can work wonders.
As a child and a teenager, I used to hide from naming my feelings.
Naming your emotions is vital so that the trauma is not stuck inside your system.
Whatever emotions you feel impacts your body and mind.
During challenging times, it is ESSENTIAL to name your emotion, not avoid it.
It makes you instantly aware, accept and you can let it go once you identify it.
3. Manage your focus
Citing a useful tip from Robin Sharma's 'The 5 AM Club', it says, "Stop managing your time and start managing your focus."
As we embrace July, a question for you:
What is the kindest thing you have done for yourself in these few months?
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