This is a Sacred Time

We have all been humbled by the events of recent weeks.  Seemingly overnight our lives have been plunged into tumultuous waters of fear and uncertainty.  We are dealing with the anxiety and foreboding that accompanies sudden and unwelcome change.    And we are suffering from the effects of isolation, trying to move through new and unfamiliar lives when slowing down, staying home, and being present in the moment are required. 
 
For many of us, the prolonged isolation feels suffocating.  Once we complete our busy work, finishing our to do list, we realize that we can only clean our homes so often.  When the closets are organized, the junk draw is cleared, and the oven is cleaned, what do we do next?  We find ourselves with extra time.  Time can be stifling because we often avoid it by keeping busy.  And, that busy-ness allows us to avoid deeper thoughts that may threaten to smother us with the truth of who we are, and who we must become.  When we are not busily engaged with the tasks that we have set upon ourselves, the mind begins to wander, and the imagination takes hold. 
 
And thus, we begin to navigate the new world in which we now live.  Not just the new limitations of our physical lives, but also the expansion of our spiritual lives.  Now we read a book, play a game, cook a meal.  We allow the quiet and still moments into our lives.  Regardless of whether the life that we are experiencing right now may feel a little chaotic, there are still moments of peace.  Those are the nuggets that we grasp, little bits of joy when seeing the delighted smile of a child or noticing the sparkling dance of sunbeams through the kitchen window. 
 
This time that we are being given is a gift.  Time gives us the chance to think, to contemplate, to dream.  Although quiet has been thrust upon us, we can use this time to create peace in our lives.  And in that new-found peace, we can find a connection to our divine selves.  We are being forced to pay attention to the quiet, where the inner self has a chance to speak.  Why is this time sacred?  Because we have an opportunity to explore this slowing down of our lives.  When we strip away the frustration, the fear, the insecurity of the future what are we left with?  We are left with only what we dream about and how we see ourselves.  When we see ourselves, we can begin to dream about what kind of life we want.  And that vision starts to become rich with color, with flavor, with texture. We vision because we have the time.  And in the discovery of who we are, we will begin our lives anew.  With a purpose that allows us to acknowledge and pursue our passions.  This is our sacred time.  
 
When we come out of quarantine, we will return to lives that may initially look familiar but are very much changed. It will be a while before we can even begin to understand the far-reaching impact that this global pandemic will have on our community – both local and universal.  And the underlying influence that it will have on our personal lives cannot even be anticipated at this time.   The changes will creep up, without us being aware, until we look back six months or a year from now, and we suddenly realize just how different things have become.  This is our opportunity to embrace the change and use this pandemic as a chance to create a new life for ourselves of purpose, prosperity and peace. ​