How is work and life going in your part of the world? Depending on where you live, you are weeks and now months into a “new normal” that has emerged from our collective experiences with a global pandemic. COVID-19 has gripped all of us in some way and demanded our full attention.
I don’t know about you, but I find there are still days where my energy and emotions fluctuate by the hour. As the pandemic continues to disrupt our work and our daily lives, we are all wrestling with an overwhelming uncertainty about the future. We are navigating new terrain and learning as we go. Whatever schedule, rituals and routines we had in place before COVID-19, have been turned upside down.
For me, I find some days are better than others. I notice that when I have a purpose, something to focus on, it calms the anxious brain and allows me to think more clearly and stay grounded. If I focus too far ahead and begin worrying about the future, I start feeling a bit weary and worn out. Sometimes I find myself grieving the loss of normalcy, the loss of connection with others. This unprecedented time hits us all differently and the emotions we are feeling are real and different for each of us. It’s uncharted territory. We really haven’t been here before.
So, what do we do when life demands us to literally push “PAUSE”? We’ve all certainly been getting some practice. What are you noticing in the pause?
I’ve been noticing that when everything slows down it’s easier to be here now, in the moment. I’m noticing things that are right in front of me: the songbirds at the feeder; the color of the sky at sunrise and sunset; the taste of a fresh cup of coffee; walking my dogs through the neighborhood; the 8 pm howl and the laughter of neighbors. I’m also discovering how much I’ve been missing. A friend posted this question recently. “The world seems 10% more beautiful than I remembered. Is this bright sky and deep green due to less human impact? Or maybe it’s that I have the time or the inclination to notice?”
Uncertainty is exhausting. And we will continue to navigate the unknowns. It will be some time before life will be like it was just a few months ago. So, is there a gift for each of us in this pause? Or perhaps the PAUSE is the gift—a chance to slow down, reflect, and notice if the world around us is 10% more beautiful. To discover what it is we may have been missing all along.
--Dawn
“The littlest moments that we overlook most easily are the breath in the body of this, our only life.” —EJ