Alone Together

We arrived at the park, pleased to see it was not only open but that the few people that were there were respecting social distancing and no group was any larger than three family members. Off in the distance, there was a mother and her two children sitting on a blanket in the grass. Her kids were making bird calling sounds at my kids and mine quickly obliged. My youngest, who is 4, not entirely understanding what's going on in the world right now, began to run toward them. I was able to stop her and explain again, why we are unable to play with others until this yucky virus goes away.  Having nurtured emotional intelligence in my children, even being told in the middle of an open field not to interact with children her age, after not seeing other kids for weeks, yielded calm, critical thinking, problem-solving and true resilience.

Observing this experience nudged these questions in my mind:

• The question is not how we survive, it is how are we spending every day thriving?
• How do we make these moments, these days, the most beautiful and special, not only of our children's lives but of ours as well?
• With massage studios, hair and nail salons, restaurants, all closed, and human connections at a distance, the question is what is true self-care?
• How comfortable are we within our homes, and within our minds?

We spend our lives looking outside for experiences to fill us up.

This is our opportunity to shift, to truly understand the real meaning to live our lives and to discover or pursue our true purpose.

Legacies are not how we are remembered after we're dead, they are made in every moment of every day, right here and now.

Like everyone, when this all began that first week or two was mostly taken over with questions and an almost crippling anxiety over the unknown.

"How will we survive?"
"Will we run out of food?"
"How will I juggle homeschool and work?"
"How will my kids adjust?"
"Will my husband and I argue more without our outlets?"
"What if we lose our home?"
And the list goes went and on and on and on, until I finally exhausted myself back to my heart.

After being reminded we can't play with other kids right now, my children quickly and effortlessly drove their attention back to the park; the birds that were grabbing their lunches of fish out of the ocean, and all of the beautiful statues and stones with hundreds of names adorned upon them.

The questions poured in. My son asked me, "Where does it say Eric?" (his Dad's name.) I was given the opportunity then, to explain further how his father was very blessed to survive three deployments. All of the names we were reading were of brave men and women who risked their lives serving our country, and that sadly they did not survive. The wheels were turning. It was a beautiful moment of gratitude for a young child. As a parent of young children, I have yet to even skim the surface of these hard questions. I began to think about my best friend, who's daughter lost her father. I began to lose myself in thought again as I stared at inquisitive little faces.

Sometimes life gets so heavy, our instincts tell us to just abandon ship. Fight or flight. Get to safety. With COVID-19 being at the center of our own little universe here on earth, we begin to wonder, where is safe? Is safe a place? Or is it actually a mindset? Maybe it's more about being safe with the people you love.

Over the last 6 years, I've developed tools for myself, tools that help me lead with emotional intelligence, stay grounded, work from purpose, and live with pure joy.  

The first tool I used to shift was to "sit with myself."
It's the most powerful tool of presence I've got in my arsenal of tools: refocusing my mind.
In my attempt to run away from the present moment, I had to ask, why?
Is it simply a desire to return to a comfort zone that never served us well in the first place?
Or is it something more?
Are there triggers happening now that the pace has slowed and that distractions are limited?
Experiences that are allowing emotions we have suppressed, consciously and unconsciously, from our past to surface.

As we continue on this path, whatever that means for each of us, I invite you to not run from these moments, to sit in yourself, to pick the parts you love the most and do them more, to dig into the parts that make your skin crawl and ask why, to let your soul speak to you, and, most importantly, I invite you to discover the courage within that allows you to listen. 

Remember, the entire earth right now is ALONE TOGETHER.