I wrote this post a couple of months ago when the word Coronavirus was but a mere whisper on the world stage, but I hadn’t shared it yet.
As I reread it this week, I realized how much my priorities had changed due to the pandemic. I was going to rewrite the entire story, but then I decided to only rewrite the first two parts and publish both versions to show how, in a short span of time, events in our lives can change our perspective.
One morning I was wandering around the house stressing over I can't remember what, and I heard myself say these words out loud, "just for today".
Original version - January 2020
Just for today....
Don’t find fault in yourself if you don’t:
- Clean the house
- Do the laundry
- Cook a fabulous meal
- Learn something new
- Make enough money
- Travel somewhere amazing
- Socialize
- Exercise
- Eat healthier
- Physically look the way society thinks you should
I wish you wouldn’t:
- Have to fear those you care about suffering physical or emotional pain
- Value other’s opinions of you more than your own
- Feel guilt or envy
- Regret the past thinking you could have accomplished more
- Worry about the future
🔻
Version Two - April 2020
Just for today....
Don’t find fault in yourself if you are:
- Less patient with those around you
- Unable to home-school your children to other’s standards
- Mentally not capable of the motivation to bake, start projects or do the exercise routines you see others doing
- Feeling grief over the loss of your way of life, the place where you felt safe and comfortable
- Consumed with anxiety and fear over the uncertainty of our current situation
Just for today...
I wish you wouldn’t have to worry about:
- Your family or yourself becoming ill
- Being separated from those you love - parents, adult children, grandchildren and friends
- Losing your job
- Your business being closed
- Being able to pay your bills
- Being isolated in an environment of abuse and addiction
- Being afraid to go to work if you are required to do so
- Finding childcare if needed
- Having enough supplies and food
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Any of these thoughts can leave us feeling off centre, let alone the fact that most of us experience all of them at some point or other.
Human emotions are complicated, to say the least. On any given day, we can experience emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, anxiety, gratitude or disappointment, to name a few. At the end of some days, you may feel completely drained and wonder why.
Taking the time to think back through the emotions and feelings we go through and the number of decisions we make each day can help us understand why we feel mentally exhausted at times. This time to reflect can help us realize we need to cut ourselves some slack and that it is ok to relax a bit.
I get confused between what is an emotion and what is a feeling. Emotions are facial expressions like happy, sad, disgust, anger and surprise. Feelings drive you to a goal. Examples of feelings are love, hunger, compassion, anxiety, jealousy, and despair.
We use tactics like humour, avoidance or sarcasm to hide how we feel, but we can also miss out on the pleasures of life in the process. Feelings do have a purpose though. Your feelings help you know what you want in life.
It is not so much what has happened to us, but how we react to it that shapes who we become. We can’t grow if we are not willing to take risks. Stop giving away your power by letting others make you feel less than.
Life begins the moment you realize you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Just for today live what is in your heart.
Will we eventually get back to version one or in the process will we find a better version of ourselves - more compassionate and less distracted.
"In the rush to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” Dave Hollis
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