Time to Take Stock
Disruptions such as those created by the COVID-19 pandemic have been few and far between—if ever—for most of us, and as such should be regarded thoughtfully. Amidst the strife and uncertainty, we have been given a gift: the time to truly step back, to reflect, to question our habits, behaviours, and values, and how they impact both our personal wellness and that of our planet.
Most of us have been existing in an automated sense for most of our lives, going through motions and moving with the flow without ever giving ourselves permission to pause and challenge those motions. While being forced to slow down and discontinue the status quo, we have been presented an invaluable opportunity to become acutely aware of what truly makes us feel fulfilled and well in life. What are we missing? What are we glad to no longer be doing? What do we want more of? What do we need less of? As we get to ask ourselves these questions and sit with the answers, we are also unintentionally shifting the way we impact the environment and creating space for our natural world to breathe for the first time in decades.
Our planet has been screaming for years and we have largely ignored the noise and continued with business as usual as though we had no way out. Well, we have been given a way out. Being forced to stop in our tracks and be humbly reminded that we are not invincible, that we are not in control, that we are merely a part of a natural system we are not meant to conquer but exist within.
Let us become aware of what we can do without, need less of, and what elements of our lives are not actually in alignment with what we truly need to feel happy and well. Let us give ourselves permission to question what we have always known and believed to be right or true. Let us have the courage to do things differently. Let us move forward with greater conscientiousness, of our own values and our place in this precious natural world. Let us let go of our past, old systems, and previous notions of what a full life should look like, and begin shifting into a healthier, authentic, and more sustainable way of existing.
While celebrating our resiliency and strength, let us also practice humility. Let us take this opportunity to become truly in touch with our vulnerability to the natural world and be reminded of our place within our global ecological system. Let us for the first time fully acknowledge both the significance of our environmental destruction and our autopilot living. Let us be brave enough to take chances on living life differently and humble enough to be the caretakers our planet deserves and needs. Let us not waste this opportunity; we are within a pivotal moment in time, and both us and the Earth are overdue for change.