Covid-19 virus has created an unprecedented challenging scenario, which many of us have not, and will in probability not again face in our lifetime (hopefully!) .
While the virus itself poses a serious medical threat, the resulting impact due to the steps taken to contain it is creating stress at multiple levels amongst all of us.
It is not very often that we have to simultaneously manage stresses related to work/profession, medical/health, family welfare, financial and social (isolation) constraints, and anxiety about the future due to the uncertainty.
And we are having to overcome this without physical proximity to our professional and social support structure; and many of us, including me, having to manage it alone!
I have faced all these scenarios, simultaneously, many-a-times over the last decade, and I can very well understand and empathise about how one feels when challenged with similar circumstances in life.
But, please do remember that you are not alone, almost everyone is facing it, albeit in different combinations!
Painful situations come as an opportunity for us to rise as human beings. By overcoming our pain, we come out of such situations as more evolved personalities.
So, while there are many writings being published on specific aspects to help us with our challenges viz. financial, medical, social, etc., I am sharing some “softer insights” and “simple soulful thoughts”, which may assist in being able to think differently and help us come out stronger and better individuals at the other of end of this crisis, hopefully in a not so distant future.
Although these may read and sound obvious, we often tend to forget the simplest, yet more critical aspects of life, especially in a time of crisis! 😊
So here we go and in no order of importance…
1) One of the natural questions which we ask ourselves when faced with painful situations in life is “Why Me?”
“Why is this happening to me?”
As you have heard many times and while it might sound philosophical, the truth is that things happen in life, just as Good happens, Bad also happens. And every such situation comes along with either Happiness or Pain, the objective is to teach us something.
2) Acceptance with Humility helps us face either of these scenarios in life with equanimity. As the saying goes “the strongest of trees bow with humility to various storms of life”.
3) What does not help is Comparing our own situation with others, as this can only further add to our misery. Being concerned about Social Perception and Judgement about the outcome of our problems further aggravates the situation. We often judge ourselves even before anyone else has judged us, and thus inflict further pain upon us.
4) But please do not suppress any Emotions. It is important to acknowledge all our emotions, pain, sadness, happiness, or even anger. Suppressing emotions can lead to a lot of pent up emotions which builds over time and does not help in overcoming our situation, both now and in the future.
5) Hence it is also ok to cry. Crying is not a sign of Weakness, but extreme Strength. Crying is the sign of a strongest individual, because that is when an individual sheds inhibition and climbs over her / his Ego and vents out the inner feelings. Moreover, crying leads to the internal cleansing of our soul and makes us very light and completely refreshes us for our journey ahead. So, there is no shame in it, even I have cried a lot, and even do so now. 😊
6) When we are in pain, we need to be felt loved. During such times, look towards your nearest and dearest ones to keep drawing such love. Selflessly giving out love and helping others deal with their pain, also helps us first forget, and then relieve us of our own pain.
7) Also important is to daily practice Gratitude and Forgiveness, both to our own self and others. We are humans and always prone to errors, particularly during such difficult times. But we need to be compassionate towards our own mistakes, which will allow us to be compassionate about the mistakes of others.
8) It is important to not lose Faith. But faith is as much about acceptance of when things go wrong, as it is about when things go right. If it is possible, it helps to laugh at our own pain, it can make us feel “light” about the situation which we are facing. Engaging in some “light” and “soulful” reading helps in taking the mind away from the stressful situations.
9) Finally, please do always remember that “someone is always praying for you”. We would have done many good deeds in the past, for which those individuals would have thanked and prayed for us; such wishes of gratitude and prayer are eternal. Making someone happy would have also made us happy. Remembering those good deeds in our own painful times, makes us happy and helps us relieve of our own pain. Never forget to count your Blessings, even if you believe you have lost some!
So please remember, you are not alone and “Someone is always praying for you”. I will also pray for you. 😊
Please feel free to reach out to me if you want to have a personal discussion. Also appreciate your own comments which can help all of us.
In the meanwhile, a simple secret is to keep the chin up, have a smile on the face, keep having fun and moving forward, while spreading love and happiness 😊. Believe me, it always works! 😊
Please do take care of yourself and your family. And yes, do stay safe and maintain a physical social distance, but please do create a proximity of the soul like never before, with your own and others! ❤️
Thank you and God bless you. 🙏
#Crisis #Challenge #Stress #Pain #Acceptance #Humility #Happiness #Sadness #Strength #Weakness #Gratitude #Forgiveness #Compassion #Blessings #Prayer #Perception #Judgement #Covid-19 #CoronaVirus
First published in March 2020.