This is a quick 8 minute check in. Just a small touchstone of a reminder that we are all in this together. WE as humans, as communities, as countries are doing something unique and wholesome.
This is a quick thought about how the world is going, maybe taking inventory with how you are coming out of this. Maybe just taking a minute or two to spend taking stock, assessing how we feel, and making time in our real lives for the things that have fulfilled us and steadied us through this worldwide event.
Okay, so not all the things I do not like. That would take too long. In our quarantine I have had to confront some things. Actually, we have HAD to do very little. Our expectations versus our boundaries have been able to relax. We can set a boundary still, and should be setting many physical boundaries; but then we are not expected to do anything but keep ourselves and our families away from contact. We cannot expect ourselves to do everything in our previous lives from the walls of our homes. That is an unreasonable expectation and should be treated as such. Back to the things I don’t like. This has been had to watch the world fight being still. This has been really hard to watch natural consequences, and the natural path of life. It has been really hard for me to feel like a failure when it comes to teaching my kids. I have had to let a lot of that go, because guess what? I am a terrible teacher. I do not like to feel like I am not allowed to do something, but guess what I have to console myself with? I would also HATE to be a part of the problem of the spread. I would hate to give it to someone I love and care deeply about, and know that I caused that suffering. I very much feel for the people losing loved ones, especially those they cannot be their bedsides. I hate to watch those people grieving the loss of loved ones who had a rushed or very small funeral because of numbers. I don’t like it, because it is a window in a lot of ways to things I want to help, but I can’t.
It’s a gift to be able to have the time to see and hear each other on this level. It’s also a gift to be able to tune out as much of it as we want in the safety of our own walls.
No, I don’t like it, but I have to sit with it. One of my dear friends told me the other day that my podcast was well timed, that we had to hear some of these things now while we re-wire our lives. This time to play is fleeting. There will be a return to some of the things that require so much of our time and attention, but what if we didn’t return everything? What if we were able to weigh their value now and see if these things were as worthwhile as we thought. These things that pulled us back from our immersion into our families and ourselves. Everything will be different. We will be forever changed by this time period that we get to experience. What if the chance to rebuild and build new relationships based solely off of communication didn’t go away? What if we were able to say that because of this time period we were able feel we didn’t have to defend saying no? What if we were able to say we didn’t HAVE to do anything?
This is a lot like adding more play into our lives. In fact this is exactly what it looks like. It looks like saying no sometimes so we can be human and LIVE. It also means that sometimes we feel disappointed when we can’t play the way we are craving, but allowing ourselves to feel that. If I could have you take one message away from this tiny podcast episode it would be that returning to play is about tuning into our intuition. Tune in to that little bit of us that is saying what we really need. That does not have to be something that looks playful from the outside eye. Tune into that intuitive, true voice from you, that is saying: THIS IS WHAT I WANT. If we get to know our own intuition, we come out of this better people overall. We come out of this as people made for more love, compassion, truth-telling, and more showing up in ways that mean more. We come out better. It’s as simple as stopping a few of the unnecessary, and maybe leaving it empty to just feel.
Well, as every before, I am thanking you for listening. Please pass this episode along to anyone you feel may need it, especially now. It’s a strange time for everyone, but I think it is comforting to know that there are others doing this with me.
Thank you for lending me your ears today. And here’s saying once again: Maybe start with your weekends, but make everyday a playful day.