You knew I had to do it, eventually. Speak about the pandemic, I mean.
Only, this is not one of those lectures which encourage you to twist yourself into a pretzel, re-frame, elevate yourself, blah, blah, blah, so that you succeed in loving something you hate, in order to appear enlightened.
Let’s face it: the pandemic SUCKS!
However, it occurred to me the other day that the pandemic presented us with some interesting metaphors, which are worth exploring:
- The Virus
Think about it: the virus, something that we cannot capture with our physical senses, something about which the jury is still out as to whether it’s alive or not, has brought us, sophisticated, rational beings that we consider ourselves to be, to do things which would have been unimaginable a very short time ago.
The un-seen is so powerful that it ended up affecting the seen in very profound ways…
Just like the (un-seen) unconscious beliefs that we hold affect our day-today reality and ultimately change it in profound ways.
- The Physical Distancing
So, we have to stay physically apart. Parents, children, siblings, lovers, colleagues, friends. No touching, no hugging, no kissing, no pats on the back.
Unthinkable.
But, we did not die from it nor did most of us go into deep depression because of it.
Could that be because the emotional connections we have, which are eternal and unaffected by viruses, are a lot more important?
- The Lockdowns
All of a sudden, the world without became forbidden to us.
Could this be a nudge to go within?
- The Masks
Like any barriers, they are unpleasant, and, quite frankly, ugly, unappealing, no matter how many Swarovsky crystals we put on them. They cover up our mouths and noses, which robs us of our smiles, literally.
We feel imprisoned and confined.
But, having to wear a mask on my face got me to thinking about the many invisible masks – personas –we all wear every day in order to present to the world what we would like it to see. Limiting and confining, wouldn’t you agree?
- The Pandemic Itself
As I said, it sucks. And, I don’t know about you, but I am really eager to see the back of it myself.
Nevertheless, I will be taking a nugget of something from this experience.
It feels good to take a minute, an hour, a day off every once in a while and stop everything. Watching TV, interactions with others, be they human beings or things, endless analysis of our past experiences, our present challenges, anxiety about the future and even our cherished dreams.
Take a minute, an hour, a day, and just BE.