The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. -Mark Twain
We are in the midst of a surreal global pandemic that none of us imagined we would be experiencing in our lifetime. Certainly, we will remember this as BC (Before Covid19) and AD (After Disaster).
Unprecedented in its scale, (magnitudes in severity and duration than anything we can remember), it has brought out the worst and the best in us.
It’s a time for us to reflect on what’s truly important and to recalibrate our priorities and indeed, our lives. Health care workers including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, first responders, including emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers, policemen, firefighters and teachers are (and always were) true super-heroes. Grocers, bus drivers, mailmen, courier workers and those involved with other essential services are busier than ever, and we owe them salutations and our heartfelt gratitude for their unwavering dedication. Others, who are not on the front lines of this battle are under lock-down at home.
Travel has come to a grinding halt, meetings and even once in a lifetime events such as weddings, have been cancelled or postponed, all leading to some bonus time for many of us. The time to experience solitude and engage in reflection, to be with family, to reconnect with old friends and rekindle relationships.
Used wisely, this extra time can be a tremendous opportunity for connection, tuning inwards, personal growth and development. And that, in this time of consternation and chaos, is a precious gift.
We respectfully suggest the following actions and welcome additional suggestions from the reader:
1. Start your day by springing out of bed when you wake up. Sing in the shower. Sip your coffee or tea, enjoy the taste and aroma. Stretch. Dress up as though you were going to work, no lounging in your pajamas. Have the strong intention of having a very productive day.
2 Find time for Meditation, Silence or Prayer-certainly, the authors have spent more time meditating in the last month than either of us had done any time previously. Remember the ancient saying: You should meditate once a day and if you don’t have time to do that you should meditate twice a day
3. Enjoy actively listening to beautiful music.
4. Express to family how much you care. Take advantage of the opportunity to cook together or clean the house. Surely, if you have a dog, he or she is somewhat bewildered by your constant presence and elated that you are home to spend more time with them.
5. Ask your neighbours how you could help them: maybe they could use your help with helping them get some food or medicines.
6. Connect (or re-connect) with old friends from your childhood, school and college on a regular basis. Enliven the conversation with upbeat stories and humour. Relive fun memories and collectively do something for people that are less fortunate.
7. Write a book if you haven’t done so already. Each one of us has a unique story to tell and share with the world.
8. Start the preparation for a TED talk. There are books and tips on how to do so readily available. At the least, it will make you a better speaker.
8. Exercise regularly. If you don’t like to do it don’t think of the effort and discomfort but instead of the way you will feel when you finish it. There is so much you can do with body-weight exercises. Get outside (as long as you maintain a 6-foot distance from others)!
Connecting with nature through flowers, birdwatching or gardening are all excellent way to get some fresh air and sunlight. The air is clean and crisp without so many cars on the road and the planet is getting much-needed respite to rejuvenate itself.
9. Learn a new language Hola, Ciao-(although you cannot travel to Spain or Italy yet, you will be ready for it when it’s time to go)!
10. Learn a new hobby: Bridge is something we know many friends are planning on learning. Dust off that old guitar, harmonica or flute sitting in your garage and you can enliven your home with your favourite melody, Surely, it will bring smiles and cheers all around.
11. De-clutter your home. It does more than clear up physical space. It will engender creativity.
12. If you are holding a grudge get rid of it. It’s only hurting you. As Nelson Mandela said when asked if he harboured resentment against his captors who had imprisoned him for 27 years: “I have no bitterness. I have no resentment. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
13. Write a gratitude journal. If you are reading this, there is a lot more going right in your life than the things going wrong around us. Even once a week, (say Sunday evening) as you are taking stock of what’s in store the following week, reflect on what you are grateful for in the past 7 days and write it down! In the famous words of Johannes A Gaertner: “To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant. To enact gratitude is pleasant and noble but to live gratitude is to touch heaven.”
Research has shown that writing down the things you are thankful for on a regular basis is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to enhance happiness.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold. It is built on the idea that by embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. And Rumi has said: The wound is where the light enters you.
Let’s permit the light to enter our collective wound and from it, we will emerge stronger, more resilient and resourceful and better connected with one another and the universe.
