How funny, if I would have started this blog in February, I would have said: So much to do. My To-do list is so long. How will you get everything done? You don’t have enough time in your day. Everyone expects too much from you. So many obligations. Too many commitments. You’re rushing around so quickly, You don’t even have time to fit in a heart attack!
But now it’s May, and we’ve been mostly at home, almost in a kind of lockdown and I’m guessing life has slowed down. The edge is off. I’m not suggesting it’s been a holiday or that it has been easy or that there has been no stress. Don’t get me wrong. But I’m wondering if you have noticed a shift, a kind of gentle awareness that perhaps the edge has lifted. That kind of rush, that freneticism is no longer. Maybe you have slowed down the pace of the treadmill, or stepped off the hamster wheel? And in doing so you are not continuously being carried by a momentum that swallows you and directs you. You are now taking more direction of your life. You are taking charge so you can enjoy your ride.
Sometimes, in times of uncertainty and fear we bunker down, we ground ourselves. We also make space to do the things that really matter and find the time to appreciate details. Details that we miss in the fast-paced life we usually lead. You see, when we slow down, when we take time to notice and pay attention, we connect to our body, our mind, to the people in our life. We begin to feel gratitude and begin to show compassion. Compassion to ourselves and compassion to others.
So as the week begins, bring this compassion into your world, and allow for some acceptance. Put your judgements and comparisons off and allow them to subside. Know that you don’t have to be perfect. Your external world, and other people’s opinions do not dictate your level of aliveness or your level of happiness. You create your own quality of your world. And this quality is based on knowing you are good enough, loveable and doing your best.