It's been a long - and difficult - path to walk through. But here we are, 10 weeks after, slowly transitioning to a renewed freedom that tastes like heaven. After having been confined to our homes for weeks, now we are invited to gently start resuming our lives. But has this lockdown period taught us any valuable lessons to carry with us in this new reality?
My one highlight is the renewed sense of conscientiousness, unity - the reminder that every we are all part of something bigger and greater than the individuality of our existences. Unless we were truly committed to the collective effort to stay at home, we wouldn't have been able to be where we are now. Putting the collective's need above our own ones has been the key to success.
However, I found myself exasperated and furious when I realised how quickly that vanished, how some of us have forgotten that connector that once united us all. Not respecting social distancing is something that has been triggering me, badly. I kept asking myself, "why people can't be more conscientious with others instead of only paying attention to what they need?"
Last week, I came across a beautiful piece of writing that brought some perspective about the discomfort I was feeling. The book is called "The Four Agreements", written by Don Miguel Ruiz - and no, we aren't related :) - the book shares the wisdom of the ancient Toltecs, which advocated to find freedom from self-limiting beliefs that may cause suffering and limitation in a person's life through these four precepts: 1/ Be impeccable with your word Speak with integrity, only say what you truly mean. Avoid to use words to speak against yourself or in any negative way about you and others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love 2/ Don't take anything personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the options and actions of others, you won't be victim of needless suffering 3/ Don't make assumptions Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this agreement, you can completely transform your life 4/ Always do your best Your best is going to change from moment to moment, it will be different when you are sick or when you are healthy. Under any circumstances, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse and regret. As I allowed the meaning of those words to sink in, I immediately felt relieved from the resistance I was holding against my chest - that doesn't mean I won't stand my ground and have my boundaries, quite the opposite! But helped me to not hold the aggravation of people's actions as if they were personally directed to me. What do you think? Can you resonate with any of them? Please let me know! As always, I'd love to hear what you have to say. Please get in touch if you feel I can support you in any way. Below you will find my current offerings in case you feel called to join them .
With love and kindness, Monica x