The pandemic has resulted in a deconstruction of our world – not of our conscious choosing, but perhaps as a result of collective sub-conscious yearning for the wrongs, hurts, damage, injustice, corruption, chaos, confusion and carnage to be undone.
This is true of the entire world and every aspect of it – the nations, states, cities, regions, communities, families, individuals. No-one has escaped this deconstruction – whether they have stayed home in isolation or worked overtime in hospitals or food delivery.
Accepting the deconstruction allows us to move towards the next phase; the reconstruction. Denying the deconstruction, trying to hold onto power against a powerful virus, trying to stop the world from changing and slipping from our grasp, i.e. Trump’s America, simply exacerbates what has been wrong, delays the deconstruction, but it won’t prevent it. Nothing will do that.
Accepting the deconstruction means letting go of everything. The response to the virus helps tremendously with that – no sport, meetings, activities running around. Stop. Just stop.
Some things are maintained, but even that is in semi-stasis. No commuting has changed all of our work-life-family time balance. Only communicating via phone, text, online, but not in person, has given us space from the voices and energy of others and allowed us to go within, or go crazy. Our choice.
Just like a trip to the desert, sitting in the empty, starlit expanse every night will either cause us to go within or go crazy. The pandemic has done the same thing to us all. Consciously or unconsciously, or, for many of us, a mixture of both.
It took time. For some, it took more time than others to wind down to the place and space where we could own the deconstruction. Not a bad thing. The more we deconstruct, the more complete we shed the extraneous and the more strong we will emerge in our reconstructed selves.
The more time we have without the crutches and masks in our lives, the more we can take time to carefully and thoughtfully select the life we want to live, the world we want to emerge into.
The more time within, the more we understand the deep, deep power within us – we are not subject to the cruel, callous decision making of the vested interests. We need not give energy to injustice, allowing the giving away of this energy to both deplete us and energise the injustice.
If we stop, rest, turn in, tune in, find our selves, we will find power that surpasses the apparent. We will find power that creates a world alternative to that presented to us. A world energised by love for selves, not as ego but in recognition that as ‘selves’ there is only one self. We are one. And we can find and create a world that celebrates that oneness.
We get to that by truly loving, accepting, understanding and being our true selves.
In our busy, constant moving world, it is difficult to get to that space. Which is why everyone goes on ‘retreats’ – wellness, healing, yoga, whatever.
The pandemic sent us all on a ‘retreat’ – within our homes, our families, our selves.
If you’ve been on retreat, you know that some people cannot deal with it. They rail and react against it. It pushes them to places that they are not ready to go to. The same with this retreat. There are people want to, and will, emerge into a world that is the same. This is their safety net. And that’s ok.
But for some of us who have allowed the challenge to change us, we now have an opportunity to determine the world we are moving back in to. It doesn’t have to be the same as it was; it doesn’t have to be the same as what others experience. That is critical. Just as people experienced the pandemic differently, saw different aspects, interpreted it in different ways, we too can see our whole world, indeed our universe, differently to others.
And who is to say whose perspective is ‘right’ or ‘true’.
Now, in this reconstructing time, a rare opportunity exists as we are collectively experiencing the same process. We can be deliberate in the creation of our world. Not reactive, not battered into submission by how others tell us it is, not repeating what we have seen or experienced.
We can be proactive in determining the world we want, the way we want to interact in it, even the rules that operate within it. It might seem hard to imagine what a different world feels like. It might be difficult to tear ourselves away from the ‘news’ … governments’ denying climate change as vested interests won’t allow them to acknowledge it, racial violence and discrimination … etc. But that doesn’t have to exist in our new world.
Imagine. Imagine.
Imagining is the key. To allow true and full possibilities to emerge in new images we need to have found our true selves: found healing and space for newness. If not, our imaginings will continue to reflect the old, known, limited views and version of what this world is. If that is the case, keep going with the work – yoga, meditation, walks, talks, music – until the point where new images just emerge from the depths, from the ‘self’.
Those experiencing these new images and ideas are amongst us and drawn, drawing, together, finding one another. Again, there needs to be space for this; empty spaces, time, unfilled with social media, work, binge watching. Whether that time is spent in nature, in stillness, however one can find the time of allowing. This is what is needed.
It’s time.
Start with a minute, then two, then five and keep building, emptying more and more from one’s life to build more and more empty and still time. Eventually, the pull of the world we know, the world we thought was the only one possible, will subside. People will remind you of the old world: limit that wherever possible. Smile and move on, move the conversation on, move into silence and be comfortable with that. Find something in their words to be grateful for, anything. Acknowledge how fortunate we are to have the media, scientists, medical professionals, activists, a democracy, communications, anything that resonates as positive and shift the energy. But try not to focus too much on that, as it reinforces the old world with all its strong memories.
Come back to you and remind your ‘self’ that it is okay to no longer be a part of that world.
Even if the imaginings of the new one have not yet emerged, stay within the love for self as your safety net. If love for self is not easy for you, find an inanimate object to project love towards. Choose a non-human, non-pet/animal. Choose a tree, collective of trees, food, a made object, the moon … and project love and appreciation towards this object. Do this with multiple objects through the day, day after day, until you can comfortably shift that love to yourself.
Even then, if necessary, start with a part of yourself that you love, accept, respect, like, appreciate … your intelligence, legs, kindness, eyes, physical strength … Keep it internal and not in any way in relation to any other person. It’s all about you!
If you haven’t already, start making choices just for you. What do YOU want to do. If you only have five minutes, take that five minutes. Just. For. You. Not hiding in the toilet, but standing outside, under a tree. No phone, no child, no sharing. Just standing. For five minutes. And then increase that time and the number of times that you prioritise you.
As you find this time and spaciousness, you will find the vision for yourself and a better world. Choose this now, at this time, whilst we have the opportunity, for change.