With life re-opening — yes? maybe! — it is natural to have mixed feeling about it. And what a mixed bag it is! You might have thoughts like, “I can’t wait to go to the restaurant/gym/yoga studio/museum/cinema/whatever you have been missing”, “I can’t wait to go and hug my loved ones and friends”, but you might also feel dread at the idea that you might have to see “some” people, and then you are not sure if it will be completely safe. Heck, you don’t even remember how to do “normal life” any longer. Plus, let’s face it, many of us might not want to do “normal life” again.

For better or worse, this pandemic has probably been the greatest lesson of our lifetime. We all knew something had to give, something had to change, but we had no idea if or how that might come about. Some were hoping for a gentle feminine revolution of universal awakening that would bring more kindness, more sustainability. We got a pandemic instead!

Unfortunately, while some integrated the idea of more kindness and sustainability in the survival mode of the last 14 months, some others have shown how little they cared about others. And we know there is more crazy sh*t coming our way. However, thankfully, we have learned to shut the news and social media off more often. Tell me you have!

I do like metaphors so I’ll give you this one: think of your front door and how you have total control over to whom you open it. Sometimes, you look in the peephole or on the screen and decide to not open; other times, you are happy to open it; there might also be the times when you forget to check and come face-to-face with a guy who wants to sell you three wipes for £10 and because you don’t want to look mean, you buy them, only to be really annoyed at yourself (again) when you close the door. What if our mind and our life were our home and we had control over the door to the outside world? We do, of course. We always did! It’s just that we didn’t always take the time to reflect on what we were letting in.

I am playing with the idea of what it is I really want to let in my mind and my life right now. I needed to clear some mental space and have replaced a lot of noise with silence but I am now adding things again and I tell you, if I listened to myself, all I would do was paint while listening to chilled music. Oops!

Painting or mixed media has been a way to shut the world off for a few years now, but sometimes I forget. Is there an activity that makes you feel good that you forget to go back to regularly enough? 

At this time of society re-opening, it might be useful to remember that door to the world that we can open, keep shut, leave ajar, whenever we choose. Of course we will make mistakes sometimes, because as long as we are humans, we will make mistakes. Mostly though, I trust we know what we can let in when we listen to ourselves. 

It is not about becoming reclusive. Don’t go all Howard Hughes on me, right! I just choose to check the news differently, listen to different things or people, do more of what I love. I didn’t think I would say that but I am looking forward to reintegrating society because I trust that, now, I will choose as wisely as possible for myself. After this pause, I can hear ‘yes’ and ‘no’ more clearly than ever. 

If you are feeling a bit uncertain about the world re-opening, hopefully, you will step into your power of controlling to whom and what you open the door of your mind and life. No more reluctant “Yes”! And please, don’t lose yourself in endless explanations; “No” is a full sentence.

Valerie 

http://valeriemarsh.com