It’s easy to get caught up in our ways and get comfortable with our daily routine. Naturally we get used to having a schedule and so we start to expect things to run a certain way in our lives. We get lost in the ideas and expectations we have for how our lives are supposed to go. We’ve become so deeply rooted in our ways that we forget just what it feels like when we are forced to change them.
Suddenly something completely unexpected and unprecedented happens, and we’re all caught off guard. Slowly but surely something completely out of our control takes over our lives. That sense of control seems to dissipate. Our lives can’t move quite as smoothly, as effortlessly, as they have all this time. We expected it would always be simple, it would always keep going this way, and now suddenly it isn’t. There’s something bigger than ourselves, something out of our control, that’s now influenced all our lives.
All the things we had planned, all the things that we were looking forward to – our spring or summer plans have put on hold for an indefinite amount of time. Our lives have been put on hold a bit. There’s a lot of unpredictability and uncertainty hanging in the air right now, but at the end of the day, we are all in the same boat. The only way we can get through this any quicker is by each playing our part and simply just waiting – just being – for a bit.
None of us quite know what to make of things right now. Yet we’re doing our best to live our lives despite all the unusual and unexpected circumstances. Despite all the negativity and fear that’s floating around, I’ve been thinking about all the ways that this pandemic can teach us and change our perspective.
Being so accustomed to things the way they are we expect nothing could ever change them, at least not so drastically. Right now we are being reminded of the circumstances that are completely out of our control and all the things that have an enormous power to change our lives in a short period of time.
1. Practice Gratitude
During this scary and uncertain time, we are reminded of all the things that we can be grateful for in our lives. We can recognize all the simple luxuries that we have that we have been lucky enough to take for granted most of the time.
Instead of being upset about having to stay home, we can recognize how lucky we are to have our own homes and to have our own spaces to keep us safe and comfortable during a crisis.
Instead of being upset about not being able to go out, we can appreciate the simple beauty of staying in. If we live alone, we can use this time to focus on ourselves and make time for all those hobbies and things we usually feel we are too busy to do. We can use this time to re-evaluate our lives and make changes. If we live with a significant other, friends, or family members, we can use this time to re-connect and appreciate having that time to be together.
For those who are out of work or school or who can work from home, we can appreciate having the ability to isolate and distance to protect ourselves and others. We can also practice gratitude and appreciate all those people out there working on the front line, putting their own health and safety at risk every day to help others.
We can all be truly grateful that this is the first time we are experiencing something like this, that we have been lucky enough to live in a world relatively free of such major widespread disease for so long. Through this, we recognize how precarious our human lives truly are and how unexpected our lives can be.
We should take this time to feel gratitude for all the people we do have in our lives – our friends, family, roommates, coworkers, etc. Despite having to distance from many of these people, we can appreciate that we still have the ability to connect with these people through technology anytime we want. It’s a great opportunity for us to reconnect with people we may have lost touch with and recognize how important it is to have those connections.
2. Remember our Connection with Others
In a crisis like this – not just within our own country but throughout the world – we can really see just how interconnected and interdependent we all are. We are all literally dependent on one another to help slow the spread of a major disease. Right now, we can see how each and every person’s individual choices affect everyone else around them. In this way, we’re realizing how important it is for all of us to be united. Everyone in the world right now is fighting against the same cause.
It’s unfortunate it must be under such difficult circumstances, but we are all realizing how much we must depend on one another in order to help each other. Despite all our differences – lifestyle choices, political differences, religious conflicts – we are all united by one common goal, and all we can do is play our part.
3. Accept Challenges and Frustrations
We are all dealing with our own struggles during this time. Some of us may have been affected more than others. Though we all have different jobs, different lifestyles, different living situations, we are all affected by this crisis in one way or another.
Many people are losing jobs and, with that, their financial security. People are learning new ways to work, switching to remote work, and dealing with all the challenges that come along with that. Kids of all ages are missing school or are now having classes online, being separated from their friends and thrown off from their regular schedules. Their teachers are having to figure out how distance learning works and deal with the difficulties that may bring. High school and university students are having to postpone their graduation and push back opportunities that they had planned. Weddings, vacations, celebrations – all of those things are on hold indefinitely.
There’s a lot of uncertainty, and we are all putting our lives on hold a little bit. It’s a scary time and so many of the things that we were expecting to happen and planning for are simply unknown right now. There’s a point where we just have to do our best with the things we can control and surrender to the rest. All we can do is work our hardest to benefit those around us, and not add to the challenges for ourselves or others.
It’s okay to admit that it’s not easy to suddenly adapt to a new way of living or make changes to our lives. It’s scary to not be sure of the future or when things will return to “normal”. It’s hard being separated from the people in our lives. It’s hard not knowing what the future holds. We can recognize that and understand that, but we can also be grateful that we have so many measures in place to help us distance and live comfortably while preventing the spread of disease.
Many of us are struggling, we’re sacrificing things, we’re adapting to living without some of the luxuries which we have become accustomed to, and that isn’t easy. It’s okay to feel how we are feeling about the things we are missing out on, the things we are postponing in our lives, the difficulties that have arisen for us. Yet, we can let this remind us how unpredictable our lives are and to truly appreciate the resources that we’ve been given to deal with such a crisis.
4. Surrender to Life
At some point along the road, we need to surrender to life and all of its unexpected challenges. We try so hard to maintain some sense of control over our lives. We have our lives measured out to some exact formula. We are so particular about every minute detail of our lives, and we’re so used to getting what we want exactly when we want it.
A crisis like this just makes us realize how truly inconsequential all of those silly little things we worry about are. It throws off all our plans and makes us realize there are things bigger than us out there. There are so many forces outside of our control, and the way we choose to deal with those forces impacts the way we feel and the way we survive in an uncertain situation.
It’s not ideal for any of us, but these are the cards that we’ve been dealt right now so we have to accept it and make the best of our situation. At some point, we just have to appreciate what he have, do our best, and surrender to life.
5. Take Time to Self-Reflect
It’s easy to get so caught up in our routines that we distract ourselves from our own emotional health. A crisis like this can serve as a wake up call for a lot of us, allowing time to get back in touch and attune to our personal needs that we may have been neglecting. When we’re stressed out and overworked, we can get into bad habits and forget to really take time to see where we are at not just physically, but emotionally.
Having this time to really reconnect with ourselves and understand the things we need can be a blessing in disguise. We can re-explore hobbies and passions which we may have forgotten about or neglected. We have the time to really consider our life choices, and whether we are in a place that we truly want to be – whether we are truly happy with the person that we are.
All in all, a crisis reminds us that things are not always going to be perfect or easy. It reminds us of the challenges that naturally continue to arise in life. With all losses in life, there are also things to be gained. There are always lessons to be learned along with any difficulties that we may encounter. Right now we all have to do whatever we can to make the situation better. For those of us who are still working, we can take as many precautions as possible and try and stay healthy. For those of us who are lucky enough to be able to social distance in our everyday lives, we can be appreciative that we can keep ourselves and others safe. We can keep doing our best to limit going out and use this time to look inward and focus our energy in other areas.
Most of all, let’s use this time to remind us of all that we do have and recognize all that we can learn from the uncertainty of our circumstances.
Making Mindful 