For years, the last few in particular, some of us have been reflecting upon how humanity has placed astounding emphasis on exploring every physical inch of this planet and beyond. Piloted by voracious curiosity, the desire to understand and often exploit has driven us “outward” … ever outward. Hurling our bodies and machines in every imaginable direction. Off, off, off we go …
Within the field of technological advancement, the impetus there is speed and optimization. We rocket dense packets of data across the interweb at a dizzying pace, our e-spinnerets churning in a blinding frenzy. It’s truly staggering what we have done, can do, might do. Information, commerce and social platforms a mere finger swipe/voice command away … Oh, how connected we are. The interwoven.
And yet …
As we whir and buzz through electronic and outer space, bulleting the vector through looping wormholes … isn’t “space” what we most often feel? Empty, anxious, disconnected, depressed. Invisible, lonely … “informed” … but lost.
Why?
Perhaps, because, in the face of all of these marvelous advances, we are now manifesting emotional and psychological symptoms to grab our attention and lead us begrudgingly into the one place we’ve often “forgotten” to go. Within. Interiority may very well be the final frontier.
Enter the teaching virus. COVID-19. It’s forcing the populations of our “doing” culture to go home and stay at home. As much as possible. It is shutting down the stream of life as we know it and introducing us to what, for many, may be the profoundly uncomfortable racket of our own thoughts. Thoughts, which during crises like this will often take a dark turn.
What this is showing us, is:
The time for us to get to know ourselves better is here.
Love and Fear can coexist. Yes … one will often blot out the other if it becomes the prolonged focal point … but they were meant to work together in partnership. Let’s discover how.
The way we’ve been doing some things isn’t working/hasn’t worked for some time. Can we be brave enough to embody change?
Discomfort is a path to ingenuity. That and desperation are often the most potent ingredients in concocting radical shift.
What can we do?
There’s clearly much to be done, but in addition to the necessary, logistical heavy lifting this pandemic invites we can:
Take time to connect with self and others using the phenomenal devices at our disposal. Technology can serve as a bridging medium through this period of physical distancing.
Explore online resources, tools and meditations for calming, centering and navigating fear/anxiety. Remember that the Corridor has a strong healing community. Many of those approaches and resources are still available via phone, video and online.
Check in with yourself when you start to spin. If you’re afraid or anxious, consider: What am I afraid of? What is the fear saying/asking for? Listen. Breathe. Then do your best to support yourself proactively.
Turn to the land. Green spaces silently invite. The natural world that surrounds us is ready to receive and remind you of an organic flow … distant, yet familiar. Its unforced rhythm is but breath and a heartbeat away.
If you have a question or needs … Reach out. Ask. Every day new doors of support are opening as we move through this thing.
Above all, PLEASE remember that you’re not alone. This global event is helping us to see how profoundly interconnected we are. In the midst of the chaos, let’s each do what we can to step up and into a connective/supportive nature in our homes, if we’re staying in … and on the front lines, if our work has us there.
Together, we will redefine and rebuild. And as ironic as it may seem … “in,” whether taken literally or metaphorically, may be the only way out.
—Noelle Holmes, Prairiewoods board member