Today we’re talking about choices and in particular, one that might be the most important choice you make.
It’s a choice we’re all making hundreds, if not thousands of times a day.
But most of the time we’re not even aware that we’re making it but we are.
So, what’s the choice we’re talking about?
It’s the choice of showing up with an open heart and living from love or closing down your heart and living from a place of fear and panic.
These two choices determine…
–Your joy
–The abundance and prosperity in your life
–Your stress level
–The quality of your relationships
–Your success and happiness in your job and career
–The way you raise your children
–How connected you feel to the people close to you
–How kind you are to strangers
And much, much more.
Given the uncertainty that most people are living with at this time, this very simple choice is critically important…
Now more than ever.
Because of the Coronavirus, we are all facing what seems like a “new normal” every day and almost hourly in many cases.
Empty shelves in grocery stores–schools, restaurants and businesses are closed and all gatherings are cancelled.
There’s an air of uncertainty about if bills will be paid since many live pay check to pay check.
Our way of life has been suspended, hopefully temporarily, but we don’t know.
Stress and worry about the future–because we just don’t know what’s ahead.
This is where the choice of two ways of thinking comes in…
We can choose to live in fear and allow stress and worry to dominate our thinking or
We can choose to keep our hearts open and live from love…
–Keeping ourselves safe and filling our time with what will uplift us
–Listening with more love to each other and putting space between when anger and fear arise and our reaction to those nearest us
–Safely reaching out to people who might need encouragement or help
–Not spending a lot of time on social media, watching the news or listening to conspiracy theories
–Most importantly, not being engulfed by fearful stories that we replay in our minds and the scary “what ifs” that produce panic not only in us but in others around us
This doesn’t mean not being prepared or not being safe but it does mean leaving fear out of it and finding a sense of calm inside.
It also might mean a time of growth and positive change.
We love what the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron says in her book When Things Fall Apart–
“Fear is a universal experience. Get curious. When things are shaky and nothing is working, we might realize that we are on the verge of something. In this vulnerable and tender place, we can shut down or touch into the groundlessness.”