Today I write to you, unfortunately, not with a story from our giving journey - India is on a national lockdown until May 3rd, 2020, so we’ve had to temporarily pause our food donation and distribution efforts. Instead, I’ll attempt to uplift you with a story from the Gita. One that we can remember and relate to in these trying times.
When like a tortoise that draws in its limbs from all directions, he withdraws all his senses from the sense-objects, his mind becomes steady. BG 2:58
It’s a normal day. You’re greeted by the loud sirens and buzzing vibrations from your phone yelling at you for oversleeping. You rush to work. You take call after call, meeting after meeting. It’s 2pm - did you really forget to eat lunch? Before you know it, the day’s over and you’re b-lining it to your car to beat rush hour. Wow, it was this sunny outside? Sitting in traffic consumes the last shred of patience you had left. Finally home. You’re feeling drained so you UberEats Chipotle. What’s new on Netflix? Oh, so that’s who Carole Baskin is! You glance up and it’s dark outside. What time is it? Time for bed, I guess. Time for tomorrow.
We all get consumed by the rhythm of life. The sun rising each morning as our metronome keeps us on schedule and moving - almost hypnotically. We get wrapped up in working and eating and sleeping and repeating. Filling in the gaps between the time requires energy we just don’t have. So we resort to what’s effortless - checking Instagram or turning on the TV. Following the same routine everyday feels easier than thinking up new exciting ones. It works, it’s fine.
Sometimes it takes a disruption in our rhythm to not just feel fine, but feel good. A disruption is, by definition, “a disturbance which interrupts an event, activity or process”. As we were running down the path of life, 100 miles an hour, God stuck his foot out and tripped us. As we tumbled into the dirt, we felt shaken up and in disarray. We’ve been rudely interrupted, in fact halted altogether in a multitude of ways. But why? And how do we get back up and keep moving? On the ground, we sit and we think. Only through an interruption like this can we pause. And only through pause can we reflect.
When we’re stuck on repeat, day in and out, we don’t get this opportunity. With COVID-19, God gave us the opportunity - the opportunity to feel good. By being interrupted, we’ve been given the opportunity to be awakened.
But “we can’t go out”, they say. “We can’t go to the movies or the salon or the gym or the mall or the bar - we can’t go anywhere”. Yes, we can’t. And it’s frustrating that we’re forced off our paths, our lives. It’s infuriating that something grabbed a hold of our metronome and flat-out broke the stem. Our rhythm is off. And, it’s uncomfortable.
But, what about what we still can do? What about not having the courage to change our routines - don’t we finally have the time to spice things up? What about no hour-long commutes in traffic? What about less light and air pollution, healing our dear Mother Earth? What about online food delivery services - that can still get us pizzas and pad thai to our doorsteps? What about spending more time with our families - what about how happy our dogs are right now? What about taking long walks - and what about the weirdly high amount of calories long walks burn? What about indulging in old closeted hobbies like drawing, playing Sims, or journaling? What about Zoom happy hours with friends we hadn’t talked to in months? What about finally being able to take a hold of life, instead of it always taking a hold of us?
With all of our time indoors in isolation, it’s become easier to be the tortoise. We can, at last, turn away from the world, and turn inwards. We can tune out from the constant noise and tune in to our constant selves. We can introspect and invent our routines, how we’ve always wanted to. We can take care of ourselves in ways we didn’t think we could before - filling our time with that novel smoothie recipe, a once daunting online yoga class, or a meaningful conversation with family over a, real, dinner. We can feel refreshed and rejuvenated with new stimulation - and maybe that’s something fresher than social media and screen time. We can shatter through the mundane surface of life with a gentle and focused mind, rather than break through it at our mind’s literal breaking points. In these tough times, we can actually feel better, we can actually feel good!
Seeing the cup half-full can help us feel thankful, rather than scornful, for the disruption - the mental and physical space to reset our metronomes, to reflect on our lives - what was working, what wasn’t, and try to make life better for ourselves. We’ve been wanting this rest for our senses, don’t let your mind deceive or talk you out of that. We’ve all said the words “I’m tired”, “I’m stretched too thin”, or I need a break”. We needed the break. We deserved the break. So, let’s embrace our break.
From this opportunity, let’s try to find gratitude in our hearts and tranquility in our minds. Let’s rebalance and recharge our souls. One day at a time, together.