In some ways, the way we are currently living is like a scene out an apocalyptic movie. The COVID-19 outbreak caught us by surprise. It snuck up on us. We saw it play out in China, and then Italy and then everywhere else.
In the United States, many of us are living in a quarantine situation. We both live in New Jersey where retail is closed and most people are working from home. We are sheltering in place, social distancing, running into supermarkets as if our lives depended on it when we only need a few things we could live without, and washing our hands a lot. And while the shock of it all gripped us a week or two ago, we are getting comfortable with our new lifestyle and many of us are finding it is not so bad. Indeed, we could get used to not sitting in traffic, getting enough sleep, reading more, and taking long walks. We are relaxing, making family dinners or taking out from local restaurants to support our communities, and we are getting more outdoor time because we can. Life is good!
So we have always written about this–slowing down to lower the stress–but now, everyone is forced to do just that. It’s a mind trick. We don’t have plans, so our perception is that we have unlimited time. And now, many of us are living in the moment.
Of course, we need to be mindful of the serious situation at hand and that some people are on the front lines and are experiencing something totally different, and many people are dying, but if we acknowledge the good coming out of this horrific situation, it reduces the angst, and if we can hold onto some of our mindful practices even after we return to normal life, we will be better for it.
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