If there is one significant outcome of surviving the pandemic and the Texas ice storm of the century – for me it has been this: the desire and intention to live each day as if it is my last, to slow down and savor the moments.
It’s amazing how in “normal” times we can get so consumed with cramming stuff into our schedule, we rarely stop, reflect and consider the quality of our moments. Like a dog chases his tail, we get stuck on the “must-do” merry-go-round and lose the sweet moments of stillness, calm and quiet which nurture the soul.
Pre-pandemic I often heard exhausted rants from my students and coworkers like “OMG, I’m so busy . . . I can’t hear myself think” or “honestly, we are all coming and going in so many different directions . . . I don’t know which end is up.” Now? Not so much.
Those are sentiments which have all but disappeared from most of our daily discourse. The psychological whiplash of the frenzied rush to the sudden shutdown of all things involving human contact has produced a variety of interesting reactions and results – some positive and some not so great.
For me personally, the conversation shifted to my inner voice. “Now what,” I asked myself. “I have nowhere to go . . . nowhere I have to be in 10 minutes . . . what shall I do with myself?” Sound familiar? Then as suddenly as the wind can change direction, the sweet sound of silence accompanied by the rhythmic beating of my own heart played a different tune. I embraced the melody. I learned a new song resting in the cradle of nature, one the cardinals and the bluebirds have always sung to greet the morning sun. “So lovely,” I mused.
In my meditative, mesmerized state it occurred to me that this melody is not the tune accompanying the manic merry-go-round; you can only hear it when you make the choice to exit the ride. In 2020, the ride came to a screeching halt for most of us . . . all of us except for those trying to save us from this treacherous virus . . . these heroes never stopped running so we could stay safe. I am forever grateful.
Although it was forced, the opportunity to pause, reflect and assess our daily lives presented itself. Like a red rose covered in thorns – seeing the beauty in the isolation vs the beast threatening our comfort zones was a matter of perspective and choice. But truthfully, that has always been the case.
For those of us who lost loved ones as a result of Covid-19, the pain of this season will not dissipate so quickly. But even in moments of sorrow and sadness, we have the opportunity to let our hearts be open to hear a healing song of gratitude, joy and loveliness . . . a melody which is always available to soothe our soul when we need it the most.
As we reenter the world and began to hustle and bustle again . . . I hope we all remember the sweet moments which make this life worth living. I hope we emerge better, more caring and empathetic and more willing to hit the pause button long enough to savor the sweet song of solitude.
Slow down, be still and listen, the earth is singing . . .
This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
