I’ve been learning a lot about myself in this unfolding crisis-you too?
Things like how privileged I am and how unaware/ ungrateful I can be about that privilege;
how I still have work to do with the scarcity mentality that I learned so well as a child, remembering the days of tearing up paper towels because there was no money for toilet paper-or only being able to buy 1 roll for a family of 4;
how much more I can simplify, even though I think I live simply;
how easy it is to NOT take the best care of me because I get too busy, and what a luxury it is to decide TO take care of me at all…
and how all this relates to understanding the rest of the world.
It humbles me and opens my heart to the many that do not live with such privilege.
The fear and uncertainty seems to be bringing us together, though, touching us all in some way, large or small. My hope is that we can use this fear we all share as a teacher, as a way to come together in our shared reality of the fragility and uncertainty of this human life that we are blessed to have, to embrace (virtually now) each other as brothers and sisters .
The Buddha (maybe) said about one of our many human problems,
that “the trouble is, we think we have time”…we are all being reminded in an undeniable way that the mortality rate is 100%.
I wonder how much of the fear is of the virus, or of death…and how much is due to the realization that we have not really been living.
I know I have missed well over half my life, stressed out and fearful, overworking, trying to achieve and succeed. I made a commitment to myself many years ago that I want to live before I died. AND I am aware of what a luxury it is to make that decision.
And yet, here I am, in this existential crisis, wondering if I have enough toilet paper and all the spices I need to cook what I want… as if nothing catastrophic and life altering is happening.
I’m trying not to turn away when I see how addicted I am to my way of living. I’m trying to NOT turn away from the fear, even as it engulfs me. And as I wonder and worry about bills that may not get paid and what that will mean-for me-and all of us, I am finally seeing the benefits of the long years of healing work and practices that I have persisted in, that may have seemed simplistic in the moment, that seemed to not really “help”.
I’m finding with amazement that even in the midst of the realization that this is a world-wide crisis, an event that I believe will change EVERYTHING, I’m noticing a deepening of my breath, a softening of my body when I sit still in this pivotal moment. Right now. Just like this. In the fear and uncertainty. In solidarity with every other frightened and uncertain living being.
I believe I am being asked , perhaps harshly, to decide how I want to live.
We all are-if we hear the call. Wondering if this invisible virus will be the end for me/for us/for the world. But if I/we do get sick or die, do I/we want to die afraid? Or grateful? Or peaceful?
I am doing my best to choose peace and gratitude, as hard as that is when the fear creeps back in. Because I have been unconscious for far too long already and I prefer to be REAL, to be ALIVE, even when it hurts. This trying time right here, right now, shows us what it is like to be a human being. And yes, it is scary, because we don’t know how. We have been distracted and addicted and unconscious for so long.
This is an opportunity to change.
This virus is equal opportunity; it is leveling the playing field in so many ways-you cannot buy insurance to protect yourself or your family regardless of how much money you have . You are not safer living here or there. While it may anger you to see that celebrities are getting tests and fast results, they are still being infected. Any of us can be. No one is immune.
We are all in the same boat-finally.
You can see and feel the fear everywhere. It is palpable. The fear of getting sick, of not having all the “stuff” you need to stay home for 2+ weeks if necessary, the fear of staying home at all, the fear of just being with YOU. It is surrounding us, whether you feel it, or admit it, or not.
The thing is, fear, worry and panic are terribly insulting to the nervous system;
living in survival mode pulls resources from restorative physiologic functions and depresses the immune system. It makes us more susceptible to diseases of all kinds.
AND IT DOES NOT EVER HELP!
May I remind you again, no one is able to bargain their way out of this pandemic. This is not a “staycation” or a snow day…this is bigger and more serious-and the very seriousness makes this a greater opportunity to do some deep healing work-for you and therefore, for the whole world. Because we are all connected in more ways that we have known.
To take this time to remember who you are (or learn for the first time) and see … and potentially reevaluate, how you are living (or not), and decide if what you find is OK with you. If this is really the end-how do you want to spend your last days?
These are the fundamental teachings of the Buddha-the truth of suffering-not as a good or bad thing, just as a TRUE thing. That we have the opportunity to inhabit just this moment-it is the only one we truly have to live, yet we miss it in worry about the future and regret about the past. That we ALWAYS get to choose what gets our attention.
And that while we cannot stop the necessary suffering, we have great power to interrupt the unnecessary suffering.
But most of us have no idea how to do this-or even that it is possible.
SO before you download all the things to do while self-quarantined that are trending, distracting and entertaining yourself from this mess, I’d like to invite you to add some other things too:
Try to allocate at least a little time each minute or each hour or each day to take this rare opportunity to just BE.
To look without flinching at the way you live, they way this country/this world lives, the things you/we value and then take time to reassess.
Look at the way we treat each other, ourselves; feel how you really feel, in your bones, and ask what is holding you back from being honest with yourself.
What do you fear? And what brings you joy?
And what is keeping you from running full tilt toward your wildest dreams?
What is in the way of YOU being YOU?
AND how could that information help you navigate THIS moment?
And as Henry David Thoreau provocatively asked in Walden-you may also ask yourself: “How much is enough?” before you empty the store shelf.
So my invitation to you is to agree to BE with this …not just DO SOMETHING to get through this.
Love, laughter, connection, rest, enjoyment, nature and having fun are essential-AND good for the immune system! SO please use freely!!
If you have no one in your life, can you commit to being kinder to yourself?
But also allow yourself time to step into the opportunity that can arise out of the crisis, the opportunity to rise up and come into your fullest most magnificent glory.
To bring gifts that only you have to this deeply wounded world, to heal your deeply wounded self, for the benefit of all of us.
To embrace and understand your fear and worry-and how we are all afraid together.
To be an active, rather than passive part of this global community
BE awkward, be funny, be sad, be afraid, be depressed, be grateful, be honest, be curious, be generous, BE KIND….just BE.
And experiment with holding however you are tenderly, with love and understanding.
This is the gift:
to remember how to just be; it is an invitation to simplicity, to embracing what is because it already is, to stop insisting that something else should be happening when it just clearly is not , to be your messy, confused magnificent self.
Choose to be a human BEING rather than a human DOING
BE kind-to yourself and everyone.
Practice patience and tolerance and remember connectedness and compassion for all beings and the earth that is our only home.
To heal together as a global community
AND the perhaps long-awaited good news- after all these words- is that
there are LOTS of things that you can do to be in the best possible condition- mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually-
to make your way through these harrowing times. I’ve learned most of them the very hardest and most convoluted way, but that is what makes them easier for me to remember-and essential for me to share.
My wish is that NO ONE feel alone in this.
There are always possibilities, though you may not yet know.
I also understand that the fear of the pandemic and the unfamiliar and perhaps unwelcome social isolation is/will be taking a toll on many of us, so in an attempt to make a meaningful offering that may bring some ease, I will be putting out a series of short you tube videos, blog posts on Facebook and my website, whatever the spirit moves me to offer that may be of benefit, starting this week with simple tips and suggestions to guide and support you through this as best I know how.
I’ll offer simple energy techniques to bring you closer to balance, mudra, meditation, poetry, simple yoga, maybe even simple, healthy cooking ideas.
**AND here’s the usual required disclaimer-this offering is NOT in lieu of traditional western medical advice and support. This will NOT be medical advice.
This invitation and offering is simply to empower you with simple tools to diminish the stress we are all facing, to take a break from the worry, to take a full breath, to do SOMETHING that helps you be your best in these challenging times and create resilience in the energy body and the nervous system to have more power to handle the difficulties that may arise.
If you would like more support to manage your stress and worry-I’ve got a BIG toolbox and I would love to share it with you: energy medicine tips to stay strong, all manner of stress reducing practices including meditation guidance/instruction, yoga nidra, mindful energy yoga, health cooking with an Ayurvedic twist…or just someone to support you, I will also be offering individual zoom sessions on a sliding scale basis.
I know that many of us are in the same predicament-no work=no money to spend.
But if I can help, I’d like to. Any donation will do for individual work.
And if you have more to give to support those who cannot pay, that will be gratefully received. I am self-employed too and when classes and clients must be cancelled, it is scary, and definitely a hardship-so know I feel you.
If any of this interests you, there are several ways to tap into my work
and MOST are FREE:
· Subscribe to my you tube channel -for recent interviews and upcoming ponderings and short practices
· Here’s my FREE 17-minute Daily Energy Routine Based on Eden Energy Medicine
· Sign up for my newsletter and you will receive a free full-length rainbow yoga nidra
· Email me for individual work here
· Visit my store for mp3s to use at home-all 33% off now
· Listen to some recent interviews I’ve done-this week there is one with Devorah Spilman on The InStory Show-subscribe for my interview and lots more here-
· Look for my upcoming interview with Kathy Forest in The Great Womb Awakening starting next week-register here. My talk is entitled Phoenix Rising: Trading Mastery for Mystery to Remember Wholeness
I am choosing to believe that there is great opportunity in this crisis.
It has never been more clear that we are one human family and now is the time to heal our wounds and come together as a global family.
I’d be honored to support you if this resonates, and would be grateful for your support of my heart work in this new online way.
I’m hopeful that this will become our new “normal”- helping each other thrive. 🙏💕
We are all in this together and I am so grateful to be with you on this healing journey.
With lots of love and deep wishes for good health and deep healing for everybody, everywhere with ABSOLUTELY no exceptions…
AND kindness-only kindness…for yourself and all of us.
Love
Gina 💕☮️🌎🙏∞💫
( AND remember to wash your hands😍)
“Inside the word "emergency" is "emerge";
from an emergency new things come forth.
The old certainties are crumbling fast, but danger and possibility are sisters.”
― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark
(thanks to Adreanna Limbach for sharing this poem🙏)
