Pivotal Times Reminding Us to Look Up

Virus_image

In times when people are losing work, closing businesses, and fearful about other changes concerning the Coronavirus, it is important that we protect ourselves, families, and communities by staying at home and washing our hands. However, we must also shift our perspective to the upside of this situation. These challenging times will leave us all and the world changed, but perhaps the result will be a better version of you, society, and/or the world.

Pivot Our Focus

focus-image

As we have been forced to press pause on our travels, business plans, and in essence our lives, there is an overwhelming feeling of loss of control. Well, we can shelter in place, wash our hands, and pivot our focus. On this last point, I suggest that we all tap into the power of perspective. It is easy to do. You don’t have to go out and shop for it. You can even do it while social distancing and staying at home.

Look Up Mantra

Look_Up_Sunset

To help you, there is a mantra that has proven to work. The Look Up mantra was created by me over a decade ago. Look Up was the product of a terrible accident that put a forced pause on my life, very much like the stay-at-home situation we find ourselves in. With very little control of any circumstance, we do have control over how we think, frame, or process. Look Up serves as a reminder to do two things: 1) Be in the moment and 2) Find the upside.

The Lesson

Book_Heart_Shape

If this sounds too simple. Believe me, it works. Take a moment to appreciate the beauty around you and/or the hazards. Stop multi-tasking. Look up from your screen. Breathe. Then, find the spin, the bonus out of this situation. Could it be more time with your family or that you finally got to read all of the books that had been piled up on your nightstand? Look Up reinforces that every hurdle, hiccup, and/or wound over time becomes a lesson.

Weathering the Pandemic

thunderstorm

In essence, we have to weather this pandemic as if it were a storm, hurricane, or massive snowfall, all of which stop normal life, close schools, and make travel difficult or impossible. We must heed the advice of epidemiologists and medical experts. We must learn from countries that are ahead of us. We must stay at home and wash our hands. But when the caca hits the fan and there’s no toilet paper in the store, we must not lose our sh**. Look Up at home, in the grocery store, and while taking a walk in your neighborhood while social distancing.

Here’s to looking up! 

If you have found an upside in these pivotal times, please share it in the comments.

3 Responses

  1. I’m finding it refreshing to wake up with no alarm, drink my coffee with no rush, catch up with friends on the phone who I never get a chance to talk to except a quick hello, meditate without rushing it, stretch my body without zooming through the yoga moves, do a chore like cleaning out the closet without having to follow it up immediately with another chore or not do any chores at all because I can do them later. I like having the time to brush my cats, play dominos with my husband and go to bed when I’m tired... not at a set time. Slowing down and being aware of my being and other beings is nice... I like it and appreciate the opportunity to just be.
  2. My children and I painted a bedroom last week. A mundane task that I would typically would have completed myself while the kids were at school......but this time, it was teamwork; and it was fun! One person laid down drop-cloths; another gathered rollers and brushes; another removed decor from the walls. We sang while we worked and talked about what our next project should be. We had the room painted in record time; and no one appeared to have felt that we had "worked". Who would've thought that staying at home would've given us the opportunity to get something done that had been long put off....and that the best part is that we did it together?!
  3. Heidi Siefkas
    Incredible takeaways from the situation we all find ourselves in. Mundane painting turned into a Blue Man Group-esque stay-at-home musical. Love this! Here's to looking while brushing our cats, enjoying our coffee, or doing our DIY projects.

Leave a comment