Stop and smell the roses. It may sound like a cliche, and most likely you have either heard or used this phrase many, many times, but do we ever actually do it? When my third child was born, I remember saying to myself, I absolutely need to stop and smell the roses with this child, because holy moly, does time ever fly by. My first two children seemed to pass through the ages of one, two, three, four... way too fast and all that I wanted to do with my third baby while home on a teaching maternity leave was to stop, smell the roses, breathe in, and simply enjoy the present. Right now, there is so much happening all around us, things may seem to be spinning, and out of our control. This is a moment in time, one that we will never (hopefully), have again, providing the opportunity, regardless of the reason, to stop, breathe, relax, and maybe, even to dream. In Canada, I used to spend time counselling clients who were going through extraordinary change in their professional career due to job displacement, relocation, or redundancy. In most cases, this provided an opportunity to redirect what they thought was going to be the pathway of their life to dreaming about what could be! I think that this moment in time, this absolute unbelievable frame of the present, can provide an opportunity for many to re-think, to proactively engage in thoughts where we can dream of what can be. Why not? What’s the alternative? What do we have to lose? No-one could have ever dreamed that we would be in this current situation. Not in our lifetime. But here it is. People have lost their jobs, careers, livelihoods, a business, or the unthinkable, a loved one. But there is hope. And with hope there is promise. A promise of a better tomorrow; in whatever way we envisage, desire this to be. My grandmother used to tell me about the grief she endured during the Spanish flu, most especially in listening to her father building coffins for their family and the absolute, inconceivable loss to a young girl, as she heard him build the coffin that would hold her beloved mom. While hearing the thumping of the nails, she shared an experience of also being filled with hope, with light, knowing that another day would come, a knowledge of a purpose, a life that she knew she would live and that gave her hope. Hope is commonly used to mean a wish: its strength is the strength of the person's desire. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hope as the following, “to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfilment”. My beautiful, amazing gram went on to birth 17 children, creating a vast and incredible family that continue to uphold her values, beliefs, and to live the love and hope which she fostered in all of us. We are not done. We do not have to accept this as our new normal. I choose to believe that this can be the beginning of something new. It is said that in a crisis, the people who cope best are those that help others. When you help someone else, you accomplish something, you do something, you’ve contributed, you’ve made a difference. As humans, for the most part, we want to feel that we have made a difference, that we matter. Sadly, the best way not to matter, is to not do anything. So, I encourage you to find ways to help others, to matter. If you are feeling you are in a dire circumstance, reach out, even if in a small way. This is the time for us to be strong, be connected, be together; because what is the alternative? Together, we are so much better, together, we are so much stronger. Stay safe. Stay home. Be kind.
Blessings upon blessings.
sharon
Article first published in The Twizel Update, April 29. Edited for this blog. S.Blanchard
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