It’s been a few months since I’ve written - January to be exact. On February 1, 2020 my sweet dog and constant companion passed away. My heart was broken. There is a part of it that still seems unrepairable. For those of you who have had a beloved pet and lost them you completely understand. As a matter of fact, I still can’t take her picture down on my bio on this website. It may never come down.
But, life goes on. Shortly after her death Covid-19 became a household word and with my husband working at home our routine and life took on changes. On Monday, he goes back to the office and with this, I contemplate what a reopened Colorado means to me. As a person with a history of heart disease and asthma and a pre-diabetes diagnosis looming closely, I am afraid. Afraid of the symptoms of this virus. Anyone who has struggled to breath can relate. I am filled with an extreme amount of empathy for the pain and suffering people are going through that are diagnosed with this virus and the emotional trauma seems unimaginable for those who have lost a/or multiple friends or family members while fearing for their own health and well being. Adding to this is of course the financial burden this virus is leaving in its wake for most people in this world.
It is my experience with Life Coaching and in life that we all handle stress and emotional upheaval in our own way based upon our personality type.
The Enneagram recognizes nine types, Stand Out by Marcus Buckingham also has nine types (I can see patterns that match our Enneagram type and our Stand Out types, which is very interesting to say the least) and Gary Chapman tells us there are five love languages and of course the many combinations you can find in Myers Briggs assessments. No matter where you fall with these assessments one thing is true you have your own individual way of expressing yourself. So, what happens when the person you have been quarantined with expresses themselves differently? Or if your neighbors or community members aren’t taking the same precautions you are to stay safe themselves and caring for the safety of others? Is outright anger the next phase of this world we are living in? We are starting to see the clashes between police and people choosing to follow there own guidelines. We are seeing workers being shot and people wiping their faces on the clothing of workers in stores when asked to put on a face mask. As I write this I am disgusted by the behaviors and sadden. It makes me question, “What have we learned over the past two months?”.
The earth is regenerating without all of the fumes and chemicals being pumped into it, people are cheering on our medical community and essential workers and neighbors and friends are stepping up to help those that are most vulnerable. Were the good things a temporary mask and now we prepare to go back to ourselves literally masked “maskless” selves prior to the virus or are emotions so raw that they are escaping like the steam from a pressure cooker.
I would like to think of these poor behaviors along the lines of the pressure cooker metaphor. We have been cooped up, pushed to our ends with change we did not want and we are fearful. Fearful of a virus, fearful of our financial status and fearful of the new normal. If we are going to be our best selves in the face of fear what do we need to do?
Getting to know ourselves better and recognizing the patterns of our friends, neighbors, family members and co-workers can be helpful. Moving judgement out of the equation and adding understanding for different ways of coping and adjusting can be just the thing we need at this time. Expressing our feelings in productive ways and recognizing that we may be hiding our deep seeded fears even from ourselves.
I was reading Tisha Morris’s book “Mind, Body, Home” this morning and she had a quote from Charles Eames “Eventually everything Connects” This is so true. We are connected to our surroundings, the people in our lives even those that are mere acquaintances. We are connected to our bodies, our homes, the earth. My breakfast this morning was eaten in my backyard - wind blowing, sun shining, birds were chirping, squirrels working hard to get food from the bird feeder and running along the fence, the street cleaning truck passing by and my computer sitting on the table ready to write this blog. I, in one moment was connected to healthy food, the sights, sounds, smells and feel of the earth as well as my work and passion and the movement of others as they go about the day doing their job. All the while my husband sits upstairs in my home just a window call away working with his team. "Eventually everything is Connected”
At this time of restarting let’s remember the positive reshape we took on out of necessity and out of love and caring for others and let’s take the extra moment to appreciate all of our connections and how each one is moving through this earth on a path that is our own yet collective. Reach out when you need to express yourself, speak to a friend, family member, life coach or therapist. Explore your patterns and personality and be open that you may see the world differently than others and they differently than you. Appreciate the world that we live in and take note of how she (the earth) is regenerating. Let’s continue to be kind to the earth, the people we know and do not know and ourselves. Grace is needed now more than ever. Take your time and breath in the positive and let go of what’s trapped inside.
Life is different now, but life goes on.
Wishing you grace, peace, love, understanding and over all good health,
Lorraine
