What to say at times like these? When everything seems turned upside down and we can’t touch our friends and the four walls are closing in and days blend into each other?

We’d all like to say we are using the time to become better beings. Discovering invigorating exercise classes online and working out for hours. Finally tackling that 500-page tome we’ve wanted to read for years. Writing that novel that’s been lurking in our minds but we’ve never attempted because there just wasn’t time.  Painting more. Meditating more. Becoming a better person.

Wouldn’t that be great?  If you’re doing any of those, congratulations.  You are a warrior.

But if instead your days feel heavy and lazy, with too many trips to the candy jar, too much television time and too little spiritual growth, don’t add shame to the mix.  There’s something about all this strangeness that really does want to rob us of our energy; our motivation to make every minute count.

Maybe it’s that we naturally like to feel in control, even though we’ve always known somewhere in our brains that we’re never in control. Maybe it’s actually something telling us that we let our lives get too regimented, too clock-specific and too filled with outside stimulation and now our soul is relishing the quiet. 

Maybe we’re just scared. Uncertainty will do that to you.

Author Pema Chodron has some thoughts on how to live with uncertainty in her wonderful book of essays entitled, “When Things Fall Apart”.  Here are some excerpts:

 “Things falling apart is a kind of testing, and also a kind of healing.  We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved.  They come together and they fall apart.  Then they come together again and fall apart again.  It’s just like that.  The healing comes from letting there be from for all this to happen; room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy….

“The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that’s really swell….”

“Life is a good teacher and a good friend.  Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it….Sticking with uncertainly, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path…” 

Going inside for peace is something we’ve all been told many times, but honestly, it can feel so hard when there’s so much noise and pain around us. Even now, when the neighborhood is quiet, many are having a hard time “turning off” the noise in their head…scary headlines, arguing politicians, terrifying images from hospitals and nursing homes.

There is no easy answer, and what works for one may not help another. But here are some comforting thoughts from both ancient times and now that might help:

 “We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.”

“Your heart knows the way.  Run in that direction.”

“When will you begin that long journey into yourself?”

                                                Rumi

 “Don’t hurry.  You are going to live forever—somewhere.  In fact, you are in eternity now, so why rush?  Don’t worry.  What will this thing matter in twenty years’ time?  You  belong to God, and God is Love, so why fret?   Emmet Fox, Find and Use Your Inner Power

“There is the path of fear and the path of love.  Which will we follow?”

“Wherever you live is your temple if you treat it like one.”

“If you wish to know the divine, feel the warm sun on your face and the warm sun on your hand.”

Jack Kornfield, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book

And if just sitting still is doing nothing but adding to your anxiety, consider what you can do to help.  Maybe it’s helping a sewing group make masks. Or emailing your grandchildren and sharing stories from your childhood.  Calling friends you haven’t seen for years and checking in.  If you’re able and are practicing safe measures, maybe it’s dropping off grocery items for an elderly neighbor.  Or even just leaving a note on a door letting someone know you’re thinking about them.

“Nothing diminishes anxiety quicker than action.”

                        Walter Anderson

We truly are all in this together. But it’s easy to feel alone and overwhelmed. Let your mind rest and maybe give yourself permission to have some lazy time. Then challenge yourself occasionally to get up, dance to some old music (even if you’re chairbound), tackle that sock drawer, or pull out that book you haven’t looked at in years. 

Your spirit is willing. Your heart is pumping. Your light is still shining.  

“Sometimes I wrestle with my inner demons.  Other times, we just hug and eat cheesecake.”

       Anonymous