One of the things that helps me during this challenging time is a trust that “this too shall pass”. While today it often seems overwhelming, the idea that one day it will end, shifts my perspective into something more tolerable. How do I know that this will be over, you ask? Because nothing stays the same. Everything is changing. Central to Buddhist teaching is Impermanence, where all conditioned things are in a constant state of flux, nothing is fixed or permanent. The aging process is a perfect example. We change every moment of our lives. Our cells are constantly dying and renewing. Whether or not we believe in the Buddhist philosophy, we can likely agree this is true.
In October of 2017, a fire screamed through parts of Sonoma County, leaving clouds of smoke comprised of Sonoma’s famed natural landscape and peoples’ homes filled with personal belongings. Thankfully, the fire did not take our home, but it did leave much of our surroundings in ash. We came home to large swaths of acreage turned charcoal black and a peculiar smell in the air, the blending of smoke from things both natural and unnatural burning together. The point of my story is that, today, almost three years later, the area is green and golden, verdant and alive. The air is fresh and homes are rebuilding anew. What I see today was hard to imagine for many months after the fire. Similarly, it is hard to imagine life resuming post Covid-19, but we know it will because nothing stays the same.
Pema Chodron in Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change, writes that “Our discomfort arises from all of our efforts to put ground under our feet, to realize our dream of constant okayness. When we resist change, it’s called suffering”. The ground is always shifting and we can use this feeling of groundlessness as a path to awareness.
Even in the best of times, present moment awareness is our refuge. We can rely on it, at any point in time for a sense of ease. When we fret about the future (which we do as humans, and I am not suggesting that I don’t), we are typically not residing in a place of happiness or ease. We are thinking about the future worrying or planning, clawing at a certain mental state, likely the one you are not experiencing in that moment. Thinking future and negative thoughts can lead us into a place of “dis-ease.” An antidote that costs nothing and is abundantly available is the “present moment”. Begin by feeling the ground beneath you, inhale and exhale, give thanks to the beauty that surrounds you, or the love that you feel from your family and friends, or the fresh air that you breath. See if you can stay there for a few breaths at a time and notice what happens.
It could feel like doing the aforementioned is trite or “not really going to work”, but it’s important to note that these practices have been around for thousands of years. For some, they are a way of life. Our western culture is not as familiar with slowing down to savor the fresh air, but I can attest that after breathing putrid post-fire air, I am better equipped to notice the quality of air I breathe. It’s often how it works. We experience a challenge, and we learn from it. Perhaps, this virus will highlight the importance of being aware of the present moment and grateful for all that it gives us. When this virus comes to an end, we will reflect on what it was like to live through it and we will be changed in ways we cannot imagine now. Until then, may I suggest finding little moments of gratitude, feeling the ground beneath you, and paying attention to your breath? Until it changes…and you begin the next breath.