As the lockdown restrictions ease in Northern Ireland and life slowly begins to pick up the pace, I thought I would put a few thoughts down regarding the lessons I have learned from the last 3 months.
I have found that less is most definitely more. Less running about and more time to connect in with myself and my thoughts. Less doing and more being. Less consumerism and more enjoyment. Less materialism and more mindfulness.
For me personally, lockdown has been a blessing. Last year I was pushing myself too hard – holding down a full time job, building my business back up, looking after my elderly mother and volunteering for St John Ambulance. As 2020 dawned, I told myself that this year would be different and that it was time to break free.
Little did I know how different 2020 was going to be! I don’t think any of us could have foreseen the events of this year, yet we all knew something was coming, and that something had to give – as a society we were all running on empty and environmentally we were destroying the planet with our greed and over-consumption of natural resources.
As the virus began to take hold in the world, we all threw up our defences and denials. I know that I was particularly guilty of assuming it was an overreaction and that it was just a flu. As we began to realise the seriousness of it, life was put on hold for us here in Northern Ireland on 23rd March 2020. It was like someone had just pressed the pause button on life.
In 2019 I had often said, “Stop the world, I want to get off!” – well quite literally the world has stopped in 2020 and it has given us all time out.
Perhaps it was Mother Nature’s way of putting us all on the naughty step or sending us to our rooms to think about how we had treated her. Perhaps it was the Universe’s way of making us sit with ourselves and our own thoughts. It definitely feels as if there has been a massive shift and opportunity for awakening.
I know that many people did not get a break – our key workers from all sectors worked tirelessly and put themselves at risk. I wholeheartedly thank them and tried to do my bit as well by volunteering to support our local ambulance service and the NHS whenever possible. In fact, my 2 shifts a week over the last 3 months as a volunteer with St John, greatly helped my mental health as it allowed me to get out of the house and into society where I could feel like I was making a difference.
I also worked throughout lockdown – I am blessed to run a business that can easily be moved online. Throughout this period I have been able to offer online and distance wellness sessions, online training and coaching and I have also had the opportunity to put new training packages and online services together – all things I may not have been able to do had lockdown not presented me with the time and space to do so.
I feel that this period has taught us that less is definitely more. We are all now craving human contact and connection – people are grateful for their health and well-being. We are thankful for our families and look forward to the day we can hug them again. We understand that you cannot breathe money or drink oil – we need to look after ourselves and our planet.
The fresh air and blue skies that were seen during lockdown are evidence of the lack of human pollution and we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves and our way of life. We must not return to the madness and mania of life before lockdown.
We are being presented with a beautiful opportunity to start again, to start afresh and to make a difference in all our lives. So let’s be grateful for lockdown and be thankful for making it through.
Let’s send loving kindness to all those affected by the virus and send a wave of healing and positive energy vibrations around the planet, giving love and compassion to those left behind and recognising the impact and love of those who have been taken from us. Let us honour all life in all its forms and be thankful that we have this gift for another day.
I have learned to place importance on living in the moment, sharing love and joy, rather than fear and hate, honouring myself and my needs and offering a high vibration of positive energy out into the world through my work.
I hope you have found the silver lining in the grey lockdown cloud and that you find the deep ocean of peace and wellness inside you that comes from being in the moment and being totally yourself.
If you have found lockdown less of a blessing and more of a burden, or if you would like to book a wellness session, either in person or at distance/online – please do get in touch. You can email me at debibarr@rocksnrituals.co.uk or connect with me via Facebook.
Namaste.
