Yes COVID-19 has disrupted lives. A virus that we cannot even see with the naked eye has got world on its knees. Everyone is at the suffering end of it some more directly affecting their health and many indirectly with a financial & job losses and definitely a loss of freedom. Many others are plagued with the anxiety, fear of loss and the unknown that lies ahead of us.Yes there is no denying of the suffering yet we can lean on to the fact that we all are in it together. #weareinittogether
This is a huge wave driving us to move from the Unconscious to Conscious. We as a species needed healing at all levels. The way we live, the way we work, the way our wealth is distributed, the way we treat the environment, the way we treat ourselves & others was perhaps not working. When we weren’t listening to the silent nudges of stress, burn-outs, health concerns, illnesses – the universe had to throw a huge brick or crash a wall on all of us collectively- that is COVID-19. We can give many references to ‘why’ this happened.We can blame China or their ways of life, but this is merely a reflection of the collective consciousness. And it calls not for blame, but brutal self honesty in knowing that healing this planet is needed. Perhaps the way we were working was not working.
Many of us meditate or choose to go to meditation retreats to silence the chatter so we can listen deeply. This to me is a huge retreat that we didn’t necessary plan for. It is the Grand PAUSE. A pause to see all the layers of unconsciousness that have led us to this. As we slow down at all levels, we savour the time we have on earth, we nourish and cherish our families & friends, we recognize the importance of connection, we recognize that nothing is absolutely worth at the cost of our health. We recognize the different elements of our mind, body & spirit that even make up a vibrant healthy life. We learn the importance of nourishing our body & mind. We learn the importance of cleanliness which is a fundamental principle in Yoga. We learn to self-study. We learn non-attachment. We learn adapatability and flexibility .We rediscover our resilience. We learn what it means to pivot with ease. We discover that time can be our friend if we allow it to be. We recognize our fears, helplessness and deepest anxieties. We learn how to manage them.We watch even what lights us up and what drives us. We stop to ask the meaning of our own lives. We rediscover our presence, kindness, empathy, compassion, celebration and love. We learn how intelligent and wise out bodymind is. We recognize what a gift life is.
And not everyone perhaps has this privilege of slowing down and even pausing. The front line workers and doctors are the heroes risking their lives and saving lives because their purpose calls for it today. We will be eternally grateful.
We know it in our bones now that we are one not only as a community or country but as an interdependent and interconnected world as together we are all at the mercy of COVID-19. Humanity has faced pandemics in the past and come out of it. But my hope and wish is that may we all come out on the other side transformed and more conscious in the ways we lead our world. The pandemic will be over for sure, but the collective shift in consciousness will lead to new ways of living, being & even working that take all elements of the human & environment into account. That maybe wishful thinking for many – but I choose to trust the human spirit of evolution that has overcome the biggest of challenges in the history of mankind.
If we stay fully awake to what is in this grand pause, this too will pass.