Hi Guys,
I hope this blog post finds you all well and virus free. I have many subscribers to this blog, and I don't know any of you personally, so if you have been affected in any way by this terrible virus or perhaps lost a family member or friend from it, I want to send my deepest condolences to you. However, if you are one of the lucky ones (like me) and have avoided any interaction with it, then I'm very pleased to hear that, and long may it continue. I guess all we can do is hang on in there and do what we are been ask to do by the medical experts, and hope that there is an end to it sometime in the near future.
I am aware that most of you (perhaps all of you) are fed up hearing, talking, listening and reading about Covid 19, but I feel it's too big an issue not to write at least one blog about it. I have spoken to many people about how they are coping and how the pandemic has impacted their lives, and it seems that it really depends who you talk to. It has clearly got on top of many people and they are finding it very hard to keep calm and stress free, while on the other hand many people have taken advantage of it (for the want of a better way of putting it). I belong in the second group.
Now, I don't want to understate or minimise the devastating effects of this horrible silent killer, however, it is with us and it is what it is, and we just have to deal with it as best we can without letting it overtake our sanity and rationality. I have tried hard to take advantage of the situation in whatever ways I could. It's strange, but the whole thing has presented me with many advantages and opportunities I did not foresee some weeks ago. Perhaps you might get some ideas here that will help you also.
For instance, I have really got to know myself much better. I have had a lot of time on my own and found myself going inward and asking myself many questions. I can hear my inner talk much clearer...and I find myself answering myself. I believe I am more aware of my values now, and what makes me who I am. I always thought I knew myself very well, but no so. I now have a new friend...me.
And speaking of friends, this pause in life has reintroduced me to many of my old buddies that I had left behind in the false urgency of regular living. I have received messages, texts, emails and all sorts of "jokes" online from people who once were a huge part of my life, but somehow I lost grip of their significance and meaning to my very reality and endurance. This has been great. I am now reliving so many great memories and shared dreams we once had together. Why did it take a Pandemic for this to happen I asked myself? I guess it just goes to show if we only take a little time every now and then to say even a quick "Hello, how are you" we could hold on to those special people who have touched us along the way, and have been such a part of our enigmatic journey.
I am a person who always wants to learn more. More about life, more about my work, more about people and what makes them who they are...why they do what they do and so on. In the past four weeks I have signed up for four different online classes. One Personal Development course with Brendon Burchard...One Drum Healing course with Jeff Strong....and two courses on Udemy, one on Group Coaching, and one on The Law of Attraction Coaching. I love having the time to study and work on these courses while at the same time improving my knowledge, awareness and comprehension of things that matter to me. Hours just fly by as I drift away into a world of complete solitude and tranquility, filling my brain with fascinating and motivating data for future application. Everyone wants to know more about something....what's your something?
This interruption of normality has also encouraged and mentored me in the art of slowing down. I find myself not rushing to get things done...because there's nowhere to go...there's no need to hurry. Infact, was there ever any need to hurry? I'm beginning to see the benefits of taking my time in everything I do. Because I slow down I have more time to think and therefore do a better job. When you slow down you have more clarity, better Rhythm and vision. I've come to realise that there is no race. Why was I racing? Time will come and time will go, and I am now learning to jump on the bandwagon of time and flow with it, rather than trying to race against it. Slow down and smell the flowers.
One last thing I've noticed in this manic war against infection,
is that it is a human condition. Have you noticed how we humans are so affected by this...yet Mother nature camly carries on with her job of just "being". The wind still blows, the rain still falls, the sun still rises and sets, the clouds still move slowly and gently in the sky. The rivers still flow, the trees still grow, as does the grass. Night still follows day, the moon still lights up the sky at night, the plants and flowers still grow. Yes my friends, I think there is a very compelling lesson being exposed here...that we need mother nature a lot more than She needs us. Maybe that is the greatest lesson of all from this unexpected condition we find ourselves in.
Stay safe everyone,
Eddie.