Some of us might feel we are edging closer towards it, managing our emotions and taking it a day, hour or minute at a time whilst others are managing through other phases and are challenged with how to progress.
If you’re not there yet, know that you’re exactly where you need to be right now and allow the emotions you feel to be expressed. All of them, even the crappy ones.
This is a journey of grieving, we hope to segue through different stages (it’s generally believed that there are 5) and acceptance is the final stage, have faith that you will get there. Acceptance carries with it a sense that we can now surrender to the needs of the place we find ourselves. Easing the pressures we put upon ourselves to be or do. Giving in to the ever fluctuating emotions and allowing them to leave our bodies.
If you are nearing the stage of acceptance, you might be raising your head to what lies ahead. Whether it’s next week, month or year, we are starting to think about life after COVID-19. Our social media feeds and news broadcasts are relentless in stimulating us with a dizzying amount of information. If we are not careful, we will plunge ourselves into great overwhelm, we will re-ignite the fear and travel back through another round of the grieving pathway. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can accept and surrender and ease gently into a new phase of our journey.
It helps me to remember that it’s spring. A season of gentle unfurling and the beginning of new life. Tend to your thoughts like seeds newly planted, not yet ready to be plants but slowly, changing and adapting, and developing a promise of something greater ahead. So too, our return to normal life might be a gradual easing back into our routines and wider responsibilities. If you’re thinking that one day they’ll just announce this is all over and go back to how things were before, I fear you will be disappointed. That would be foolish and potentially dangerous for some. See how cautious and subtly China is now emerging from it’s quarantine. Roads opening but not yet receiving foreign visitors. Public transport reinstated but still no hugging loved ones. They are emerging but gently, gradually and we too should prepare for a gentle and considered return. How do we prepare for that?
We can start by becoming mindful of where we are and how we feel, focus on the self-loving and healing that needs to be done. Be kind and compassionate to your needs, create space for you to imagine what your life, your business, your family might look like once we are all liberated back to some kind of a normal routine. Day dream of how you will have grown from this experience, what you have learned about yourself, and what changes you now see you want to make to create your new vision for your future.
This is a time of great opportunity. Allow yourself to evaluate what’s not working, what is keeping you from living the life you desire and take a small, meaningful step towards changing that today. Even if it’s just writing about it in a journal, creating a vision board or talking to the people who share this life with you. Plant new seeds and hold on to the pace of spring, gently, and with great compassion.
Finally, you don’t have to do this alone, we can be thankful that we are living in this digital age, there are groups you can join, friends you can reach out and an abundance of professionals out there. Asking for help may be the most powerful thing you do this week, make use of the time you’ve gained from losing the work commute or school run. Stepping into your leadership has never been more important, decide that today, you will take one step closer to being the leader you know you can be. The world will thank you for it.
