In the last few years, our "normal" lives as we once knew them, have grown smaller. These changes may have brought new challenges and threats of anxiety provoking circumstances, i.e., job loss, financial fears, empty grocery store shelves and even limited social gatherings. It may seem daunting to maintain a sense of balance and steadiness as your outer worlds seem to shrink without much relief in sight. This growing chaos may trigger a looming sense of "what if" as we try and reclaim a sense of normalcy without any real guarantees. I maintain that we can indeed reclaim our power if we choose to look in a different, and perhaps, new direction. Inward.
My favorite way of looking at this is simple. Imagine a balloon filled with air, and I squeeze one end of that balloon. I am effectively shrinking one part of the balloon, whilst the other part expands. Even though one part of the balloon has shrunk, the essence of what fills that balloon is still there...it has only been displaced by pressure. I see this as a metaphor for our "normal" lives having been displaced by the pressure of the chaos, and those things which signify our outward freedoms, have shrunk. Yet, notice another part of that balloon has actually expanded. We might say that as our physical life gets smaller, the opportunity to tap into the Spiritual part of our lives expands, just like the balloon. A growing sense of the inner world may not be as familiar as the physical, but it is not nearly so fragile or temporary. Wherever you "land" on this idea, you may feel one of two ways: one, stuck in the shrunken part of the balloon, feeling the discomfort, longing or fear that your life that may never be the "same," or two, considering the possibility of expanding inward, into the presence of Inner Self, with the will to engage with innate and infinite creativity.
As we explore option #2, we may feel that we can indeed create something new in these times which holds the potential to give an even greater sense of comfort than before. But in order to connect with that, the direction we must travel is IN. As we feel our fears without a sustainable solution, we are driven either deeper into our fears or deeper inward toward our own Essence. Moving toward our Essential selves, we might see the value these times have dropped into our laps. Connecting within we can find greater freedoms not available in the outer realms. I'm sure you've heard the saying, "the only way out is through." Of course we can see the wisdom here. Often we must walk through the things that scare or threaten us, like an illness, job loss or a divorce. But the key--and it is easy to miss--if we just walk through with a steady focus on our fear and doubt, we can completely miss the opportunity in front of us That being the value of true transformation as we address and conquer our challenges connected to our wealth of inner knowing. Each opportunity, including CO-VID 19, can be a tremendous vehicle to move us to the next level of our evolution when we go, in.
You may feel a hesitance about starting a meditation practice, or seating yourself in a daily stillness practice if you are filled with feelings of fear or scarcity. Yet, it might be wiser to measure the rightness of the time by the level of need to empty out what I call, "accumulated mind." In truth, these transitional times have dislodged us from our routines and thought patterns enough that we have all become more ripe to consider exploring the inner world, with sincerity. While the media continues working to get our attention and fill our heads with whatever are their latest guesses, we can actively choose to tune that out, allowing ourselves to be "undecided" until such a time comes as we become clearer about what it is we want to take out, and what we want to invite in. Quieting the mind, you will benefit greatly by emptying out. This is the first step to real clarity and stability. Moving IN, we also expand beyond the ever-changing story, to clearer thinking and inspired actions which guide us through unprecedented times, leading us to the next level of our evolution. Fear offers us nothing but more fear. In contrast, finding our way out by going IN, we gain access to capacities which we can use to masterfully co-create powerful and satisfying solutions that help us to more compassionately detach from what was, and grow greater happiness in the now.