Steadiness and Sanctuary

It’s been a week since I posted about staying present, staying in the moment. I have been (mostly) successful this week. I have moved a little slower, taken stock, and spent time thinking, planning and visualizing for the future. I actually took a nap on Sunday. For those of you that know me on a personal level, you know I’m taking this seriously. I never nap. But I did and it was kind of great.

I did some other things too. 

I hand-painted a birthday card for a friend. 

I stirred up homemade hand sanitizer spray and gave bottles to a few of my loved ones. 

I made a big batch of bone broth in my slow cooker.

But I also thought a lot about what the coronavirus is going to mean for businesses and families in the United States. I thought about what it is going to mean for mine. 

After a few moments of this I was suddenly deep in the abyss of worry about the potential economic fallout.

It was right then that I happened upon this Facebook post by Dan Rather. It stopped me right in my tracks. My eyes leaked a little. Steady, he urged. Steady.

This is the word my mind has been searching to find. It’s what I want to be. It’s what I want my business to be. It’s what I want my family, my community and my country to be. It’s what I want the Earth and her entire living population to be. 

Steady.

This too will pass. We know we will get through this. The sun will come up tomorrow and the moon will rise tonight. There is a constancy and steadiness to the universe’s patterns that I find comforting in times of chaos. And this is most certainly chaos. 

But what can we all do this week to stay steady?

Rest. 

Check in with our friends and family — a quick text or call to just say hi and make sure everyone is doing okay.

Do something creative — write a poem, paint something, whip up a delicious dish in your kitchen, putter in your garden or plant some herbs for your window sill. 

Prepare and eat nourishing, nutrition-dense food — our immune systems live in our gut so working with our bodies to encourage wellness is easier than recovering from being sick. 

Turn off the news and be selective about the diet of updates we consume — the panic and hive-mind mentality out there right now is like a punishment to our already compromised hearts and minds. The kindest thing we can do for ourselves is step away from that frenzied experience and look inside ourselves, where truth and peace resides. 

Go outside and get some fresh air and sunshine. The words quarantine and isolation sound like a prison-sentence to stay only indoors. Don’t! Go outside and breathe. Nature helps us heal and keeps us steady. 

My sanctuary has been an invaluable steadying force during these strange days. It has welcomed me home at the end of the day with open arms. It has comforted me as I paced through it on the phone, strategizing with my team about our next initiatives. It has glowed with candlelit warmth as I enjoyed a glass of wine with my husband Philip. It has given me a place to rest and think and write. It has helped me find steadiness.

Inspiration has been whispering in my ear this morning. I am feeling called to launch a special Facebook group to help my members create their own sanctuary so we can all thrive and flourish through the days of the coronavirus and whatever it brings. What do you think? Would that be helpful? I figure it’s the next best thing to inviting me over to create an environment just for you. And with perfect serendipity it allows for the appropriate social distancing. 

Love to hear how you are coping and what can help steady you during this challenging time.

With love and gratitude,

Lisa