I don’t know about you, but the last few weeks life has felt like fiction. The last week, I’ve been holed up in my home sick with some virus, which is not a great thing when there’s Corona spreading everywhere.
But even in midst of a pandemic, and I don’t say this lightly, there are ribbons of hope.
It takes courage to find them. If you struggle with chronic illnesses, mental and physical, it takes warrior like bravery to focus your attention on what’s good instead of the dire situation that’s out there via the Internet.
The thing about tragedy in any form, is that it pushes us out of our daily routine, our illusions of safety and reminds us that life isn’t meant to last for eternity.
The pain of not fulfilling our joyful purpose, however, can be worse than suffering through a pandemic.
I know right now you’re struggling. You’re living in an atmosphere of the unknown. And the amazing thing is no matter where you are in the world, you’re sharing the same struggle as everyone else.
We’re all in this together because no single race or class or gender is protected from disease. We cannot point fingers or hide from our vulnerabilities.
It’s a scary time, but it’s one where we don’t need to feel alone.
You may be forced to work at home or have your children home with you. You might be overwhelmed with worry and fear of how you’ll juggle an already chaotic schedule.
Inspiration seems irrelevant right now. But it’s not. We can use this difficult time to discover what deep calling we’ve ignored. We can use inspiration to heal our worries. We can use it to remember what’s important and focus on the things that matter.
Instead of delving deeper in the news, we can use the time to rekindle your purpose. When you discover what excites you, when you are knee deep in your passion, the outside world fades away. For a moment, the world feels safe.
More than ever, your passion is needed.
You can use it in small ways especially if you’re stuck at home. To write. To create. To help others. To take an online class. To finish a book you’ve always wanted to read. To clear out your inbox, declutter your home, and minimize the apps on your phone.
I recently read in O magazine about an app called Charity Miles, which tracks your miles from walking, running or biking and converts it to money for the charity you choose.
Doing things like this helps in a big way to improve our mental health by giving back our sense of control. It reminds us that even though we’re living during a scary time, we’re still living and have the power to create a new hopeful world for ourselves and others.