Like so many of you, I find myself in a position where my career is in suspension, there is no money coming in (for the first time since I lived on the back of a motorcycle in my 20’s!) and the usual pattern and tasks of my days have fallen away. Little wonder many of us are feeling lost and uncertain.
Even before the pandemic extended its grasp, change was in the air. I have felt myself drawn more and more to the ancient yogic traditions and with those inspirations and lessons. These are a few of the coping mechanisms I am trying to use as we move through this time of profound change.
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Acceptance & surrender- that doesn’t mean give up – it means stand strong and face the uncertainty, the fear, and the profundity of change that’s occurring. It means accepting that there is much we cannot change.
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Control what you can – because there are still things you can affect- your reactions, the quality of your thoughts, how you manifest your emotions. It’s a practice – I’m not saying it’s easy or that it comes naturally to most of us, but you can make a choice every moment to keep your own peace and choose your next steps accordingly. Maybe that means make a schedule to give yourself some of the structure that’s been lost; maybe it’s as fundamental as making your bed & getting dressed like you were going in to work. Go in to your office if you are able or start creating one where you are.
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Hefty bag therapy – That’s what I call it when I clear out space in my home or in my office. It’s so cathartic! Let some of your frustration out by stuffing all that clutter into a trash bag and move it out. On a deeper level you are shedding what doesn’t serve you to make room for what will.
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Rediscover your resourcefulness – now is the perfect time to strip away all those things – both physical and emotional – that you put in that hefty bag so that you can start exercising your resourcefulness muscles. When things are going well, as they have in the travel business for the last few years, we don’t always have to dig into our wells of creativity and persistence and discipline- but you have all those qualities or you wouldn’t have gotten this far! Find them now.
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See the gift in it – without any attempt to minimize the true suffering of millions right now, once the shock, panic,disbelief and all the other stages we’ve individually been going through on this journey begin to pass, you may begin to see small slivers of silver linings. Start looking up and out and you will begin to notice a wide-open space upon which you can begin to create the future you want. If you’re not there yet, that’s fine. Keep working through the steps – you’ll get there. We all will. We’re all together in this. We’re all on your side.
