These are strange times for all of us. This is a situation we have never been in before and we are all feeling the stress of it. On Sunday when we heard that the schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year, we were all stunned. I started to think of all of the things that we had planned and had been looking forward to between now and the end of June and how they would now likely not be happening. Up until Sunday, I had hope, perhaps naive hope, but still hope, that we would be home for a couple of weeks and then things would return to mostly normal. Losing this hope was overwhelming and emotional. I needed to remind myself that we cannot control what happens around us, we can only control how we react to it. Yes, even though I whole-heartedly believe that sentence and have written entire programs around it, I needed the reminder.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy teaches us that in-between an event occurring and our reaction, there are thoughts that happen that determine how we react. It all happens quickly and if we don't take the time to notice and pay attention to these thoughts, it is easy to assume that we have no control over our reactions. Mindfulness and meditation teach us that we can control our breath and our thoughts and reactions by paying attention to the "pause" that happens in-between the inhale and the exhale of our breath. With practice, we can learn to listen to our internal dialogue that happens during the pause. What is said during that brief pause is important. It determines how we respond and react to what is going on around us. There is power in the "pause" and in the thoughts that happen before we react.
This break from our normal lives that we are all having to take right now is like the pause in-between the inhale and the exhale.
What we do now, what we think, and how we act, has power. We can use this time to let panic and fear spiral out of control, or we can use this time to learn and adjust to this new temporary reality. We can choose to focus on the things that we have to be grateful for instead of what we are missing out on. We can choose to see the kindness going on in the world and to treat those around us with kindness. We can stay informed so we can make wise decisions for ourselves and those around us without panicking and we can choose to remember that the world is constantly changing and this is not forever.
Our kids are watching us navigate this situation and are taking cues from us on how to deal with big stressors. Let's remind ourselves to stay calm, mindful, and grateful during this pause and to choose to Face Everything And Rise.
Photo Credit: @benkarpinski