How often have you longed for the opportunity to relax and get away from the day to day stress of your life? Are you taking advantage of it now that you have it? The coronavirus is transforming the world. You have a choice how you look at it – an apocalypse or a gift. Visualize yourself as a caterpillar cocooning yourself in your home so that you emerge as a butterfly on the other side. Just as the caterpillar eats and eats until it’s time to change, we’ve been feeding ourselves on stress, busy-nesss, and instant gratification. What do you want your life to look as you emerge from the warm soft cocoon?
Of course you may be feeling fear as well. That’s normal with any life change. Embrace it as part of the shift. For more about fear, check out my post last month about Fear and the Coronavirus, as well as my Flattening the Curve: Love and Not Fear post from 3/16, right before the official shelter in place. If you’re worried about finances, trust that you will be provided for. This is already happening. You can defer your mortgage payment with no penalty. You can’t be evicted for inability to pay your rent due to the coronavirus. You will be getting a stimulus check in a few weeks. Unemployment benefits have been expanded by $600/week and extended to the self-employed including gig workers like Uber drivers.
Once you are done with the shelter in place, you have a choice whether to make a permanent change in your life or go back to your old habits. What have you been saying you want to do? Start putting it into place now. Let your words match your actions.
The skies are bluer now with all the cars off the road. Think about whether you want to help keep them that way by creating a life for yourself where you can continue to drive and fly less. The airlines and automakers may suffer if everyone does this, but there are two sides to every coin. Zoom and other businesses will thrive. Less travel will help climate change.
There are other shifts happening. The Sonoma County tourist industry is crashing. Hotels, restaurants and small retail businesses may not survive. At the same time, Laguna Farm, where I get a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) produce box sent me an email a week ago Monday saying they got 125 new subscribers last week. Tara Firma, that provides a CSA meat box, no longer has room for new subscribers. I’ve heard people talk in the past about the need or desire to return to a more local economy. Do you want this to be a temporary blip or a permanent change? What do you want Sonoma County to look like after this is over? Who do you want to support?
There was a massive wave of fear that caused people to stock toilet paper. Now I see a massive outpouring of love and support. This is all part of our changing world. Just like a caterpillar going into its cocoon, take this time to transform yourself into the next step along your journey. Let go of fear and step into loving what it is. Let the coronavirus be a blessing to transform you and the world. What kind of butterfly do you want to be and what kind of world do you want to be flying around in?
If you need support with the shift, check out our many offerings on Zoom.