This Too Shall Pass
Yes, this situation has been rough – but this too shall pass.
Hard to believe that COVID-19 has been impacting our world for over a year.
For most people, the impact was felt hardest when the nation shut down briefly in late March/early April of 2020. A shut down that was too brief to positively impact matters.
Because of a lot of false narratives, focus on the economy over public health, and denial of the severity of the pandemic – here we are, still in the midst of it. For most people, they are feeling the impact of COVID-19 in one form or another.
Kids are either remote learning or in a hybrid program. But that’s having an ugly impact on their development as well as for the parents having to work with that. Many jobs have been lost – some for good. Other jobs have shifted and may or may not shift back – such as office work.
Even with the new administration in the US, while they ARE taking action and not ignoring this – it’s still having a major impact on everything. And the time for vaccinations and COVID-19 cases significantly decreasing remains an uncertain mystery.
For many of us, this has been one of the craziest, most uncertain times we have ever lived in. But one important fact needs to be minded – this too shall pass.
This time will not always be
Many people get caught up in the notion of things being a certain way – and never changing. Except this is simply impossible.
The world we live in changes. All the time. And that’s because change is the only constant in the Universe.
Before the pandemic, the world was a certain way. In the middle of the pandemic, the world is different from how it was before. Post pandemic, the world will be different again.
It may, in some ways, look like it did before. But it will never be that again. And for some people, that notion is horrifying.
What this comes down to is comfort. We love to find comfort zones in which to exist. When we can’t live in them anymore – for whatever reason – it can be upsetting.
Some people make choices to move through various comfort zones. They work on getting comfortable with being uncomfortable – in certain respects. Embracing change or actively seeking it tends to make shifting in and out of comfortable places – literal and figurative – easier.
Most people don’t recognize this for what it is. The familiar can be comfortable and calming – and often it changes slowly and subtly. But when it’s in your face and unavoidable – that can be disconcerting.
Life as it is, now, in the middle of this pandemic, will pass. Eventually, we WILL see the other side. Yes, we can lament that we should have been there months ago – but you can’t undo what has already occurred. All you can do is know where you are now – and plot and plan for what you desire to be.
Being in the now
Being in the now can be unsettling. Why? Because to many people, it denies where you where and ignores where you may be desiring to go.
While that’s true – it’s not a negative thing. Time is an illusion – and your perception of it tends to be, too. The only moment that is true and real is this one. Right now.
When you know where are – physically, emotionally, and mentally – it becomes possible to better go to somewhere new and different. If where you are now – literally or figuratively – isn’t where you’d like to be – awareness of that opens you to change it.
How? By practicing mindfulness.
Mindfulness is conscious awareness of yourself. It begins on the surface by being aware of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions. When you become aware of these – and conscious of what you’re thinking, what and how you’re feeling, and what you are doing and the intent behind it – you are mindful.
That, then, opens you to the next level – which is your mindset/headspace/psyche and state of being. Or, specifically, your inner being. The you that perceives everything tangible and intangible in your life experience.
When you have that awareness and consciousness, you can see where you really are, here and now. That insight will allow you to see and better direct where you would like to go.
This is not, however, a one-and-done practice. It needs to be a regular, ongoing act. Doing so is how you stay aware of your changing self. Nobody has one mood, one thought, or one action. We have lots and lots of them. Ergo – change is constant. Who you are now isn’t who you were pre-COVID nor who you will be post-COVID.
This too shall pass
The now as we are all experiencing it will pass.
Eventually, we’ll be on the other side of this pandemic.
Unfortunately, the world will be different on the other side. But that’s not a bad thing.
The world is constantly changing. Things, as they are now, may be similar to how they were – but they ARE different. Change is constant and ongoing. You can fight it, resist it, re-change it – or embrace it.
Recognizing that, as hard as things have been over this past year, it’s a lot for many people to unpack and cope with. This has been a difficult time for many people for different reasons. And because when we’ll be on the other side is still so unknown – it’s an ongoing upset.
Just knowing that this too shall pass will ease the suffering. You can ride it out – or make choices to steer through it. You can surf the wave, ride it on a raft, or let it wash over you. But you can’t avoid it – you’re already in the middle of it.
I know that for some people just getting out of bed every day and facing the uncertainty overwhelms. But you are not alone, and there are options for you to get help. This too shall pass – and that’s massively positive.
Even if you’ve had good experiences over this period – know that they will pass. But you can work mindfully to continue them, expand upon them, or find new good experiences on the other side.
Nobody but you is in your head. The choice of positivity or negativity belongs to you alone. This too shall pass – life goes on. And you decide it that means positivity, potential, and possibilities – or – negativity, fear, and lack.
Recognizing that this too shall pass isn’t hard
It just requires mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions.
Knowing that the world as it is mid-pandemic is not how it will always be, we can take steps both to cope with/work with it and plot/plan for what will come after. When you know that this too shall pass, you empower yourself to work in the here-and-now to be conscious and proactive – and to do so in preparing for what the world can be like on the other side. That ultimately empowers you.
When you feel empowered, your mindfulness increases, you become more aware overall, and that gets reflected and can spread to people around you. This creates a feedback loop of awareness and positivity.
You build more positive feelings and discover further reasons to feel positivity and gratitude. That can be the impetus to improve numerous aspects of your life for the better, help overcome the overwhelming negativity of any current situation, and generate yet more positivity and gratitude.
An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of immense positivity. That positivity can generate even more good energies – and that, like you, is always worthwhile. You are worthy and deserving of all the good you desire.
This is the three-hundred and sixty-fourth entry of my Positivity series. It is my hope these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.
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