How to build a better life during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and beyond: Part 1
The future will not, in crucial ways, be anything like the past, even the very recent past of a month or two ago. Our economy, our priorities, our perceptions will not be what they were at the outset of this year. ~ Rebecca Solnit
In the first three newsletters of The Monumental Life, we looked at the COVID-19 pandemic that’s turned the world upside down. Since then, we’ve been overwhelmed with new information about coronavirus testing, tracing, treatment, and more.
It’s hard not to feel the pain of health workers on the front lines, hospitals struggling to cope, and scientists working tirelessly on a coronavirus vaccine. It’s also hard not to feel the anger of marginalised communities suffering from inequality and injustice every single day. But perhaps the most effective thing we can do right now is focus on ourselves.
Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself. And that’s a lot. Because if you can fix yourself, it has a ripple effect. ~ Rob Reiner
This isn’t about ignoring other people’s problems. It’s about understanding that, even though we’re all human beings living our lives on this tiny blue dot, the best thing you can do is focus on what you can control.
Pay less attention to the things you can’t control, down to the point of only getting enough information to shape our own actions. Pay more attention to the things you can control. It takes a lot of practice and, for many of us, takes some change to how we live our lives. ~ Trent Hamm
Unfortunately, many people are in such a slump that they’ve given up their control. This often means mentally ‘checking out’ or finding ways to numb the pain to such an extent that the coronavirus could make the opioid epidemic worse. A better approach is to understand that your feelings are okay.
It is okay to feel overwhelmed right now. It’s okay to feel grief. The key is to not let them overwhelm you, to stay in the moment and recognise that you are the one who chooses what you do next, and you are the one who chooses how you feel. ~ Trent Hamm
Before you can express your emotions constructively, you need to feel them fully. Indeed, a great way to get out of a rut is to take a break from your mind.
In any moment, you can take a momentary break from your mind by attending to your body. Learn to move back and forth between the story and the senses. The more familiar this movement feels, the freer you are. ~ David Cain
Once you’re in touch with the physical sensations, you can put a name to what you’re feeling, whether it’s overwhelmed and stressed or tired and bored. At that point, you can change the narrative to change your life.
If we let go of the beliefs and narrative and thoughts about the situation … it’s not good or bad. It’s just life. And in fact, we can create a new view: that it’s a miracle to be alive, to witness the universe like this, to be interconnected to other living beings in so many ways; that it’s something to be grateful for. ~ Leo Babauta
The more you reframe your expectations about what’s happening, the better you feel. It all comes down to finding the meaning in this moment.
Difficult moments in our lives often offer us a mix of the good and the bad. In those difficult moments, it’s really easy to get lost in the bad and ignore the good that’s offered. This year, so far, has been filled with a lot of worry and stress and anxiety and pain, but it has also had a lot of moments of hope and laughter and joy. ~ Trent Hamm
It also helps to put things in perspective, which is why keeping a diary (and reading over previous entries) is so valuable. It makes you realise that even though everyone is going through a lot right now, we all have the opportunity to be more resilient and choose a better path.
This path of uncertainty isn’t anything you can’t handle. Many people have walked similar uncertain paths in the past, and are doing so now. You can do it just as well as anyone. ~ Leo Babauta