Crazy times. And you definitely don’t need me or anyone else to tell you to wash your hands or to avoid ‘end-of-the-world-anything-goes’ parties (maybe). 

What it seems we do all need now is to keep in mind that:

  1. Tutto passa (this too shall pass). We’ve made it through many “the sky is falling” moments before, and the most powerful act we can take individually is to find our way back to center when we get thrown off by the empty shelves at the grocery store or by all the drama/fear-mongering out there.
  2. Humor is human and it heals. A friend of mine out in Hawaii told me she’s not worried about toilet paper because she has leaves all around her property. Leaves, people. We laughed like kids. Best medicine. We humans are most comical when we take ourselves too seriously. By all means, we need to take the situation seriously and do all we can to help, which includes bringing a smile to alleviate the stress where and when we can.
  3. At any moment we can redirect our attention and intention, and that’s a superpower. Magic works when the illusionist directs our attention away from the trick right in front of our eyes… This post isn’t about making conjectures about the nature of any illusions at play now. What it is about is remembering that we can decide to think/feel/act differently, that we can take our power back.

This is how I’m redirecting my focus and energy these days: 

#1: Identify any beliefs/thoughts/fears that don’t feel so great. For example, “There won’t be enough toilet paper!” 

#2: Reframe – what do I WANT to believe instead? Sample reframe: “There’s way more than enough toilet paper for everyone, including me.” Keep in mind, I’m in Italy, where as you know we were hit first with toilet-paper shortages, but the grocery stores kept stocking back up… so… 

#3: Ask questions to find the ‘proof’ that supports your new belief/direction. In this case, “How can I know there will be enough toilet paper for me and my loved ones?” We’re going into our third week of this here in Italy, and we still have toilet paper. 😉 

#4: Keep reinforcing your new belief/vision/empowering-thought-loop. Flood your mind and physical experience with what it feels like to live a toilet-paper-worry-free life. Remember what it was like when toilet paper was in abundance. Dwell in that. Post images or other empowering prompts where you can be consistently reminded of what you want. 

#5: Record every victory and celebrate it. Seriously, even if our freedom has been limited and the world news feels like it’s coming straight from Chicken Little’s mouth, I did a happy dance yesterday for the fact that we’re making it through this (for now) and that a lot of us are using it as an opportunity to get even closer and refocus on what’s truly important.

PLEASE DO NOT MISREAD THIS POST AS A FLIPPANT REACTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I’ve gone through the entire range of human emotion and reaction to this situation these past few weeks, and I’ve come to the conclusion that dwelling in fear and anger and sadness and anxiety is not helping. It’s okay to feel all that, too, of course. We all need our moments of despair. BUT once we’ve let those emotions flow through, we have a moral obligation to do our part in minimizing the downside, at least within ourselves.

Let your friends and family see you shine your light right into the darkness. And in the comments below please share anything that’s helping you right now! 

Forza e correggio xx