Warning: There is nothing scentific about what I am suggesting that I know off. I am just a person and not a specialist for handling such situations that we all are in. I am not a Guru/Coach/etc so take this all with a healthy grain of sceptisicm.
I am just blogging about what I am doing and what comes into a crazy mind of mine.
There is a well-known practice in meditation that is called 5,4,3,2,1 that can serve to calm down. It works in the following way:
– Name 5 things that you can see now
– Name 4 things that you can feel now
– Name 3 things that you can hear now
– Name 2 things that you can smell now
– Name 1 taste you feel now
There are a lot of variations of this practice, but I guess that you already get the idea.
My suggestion is to transform this practice into something practical that will help you and others around you in these times.
I call it 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (Isolation Edition) and I am doing my best to practice it on daily basis.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Isolation Edition:
5 – Call 5 of you friends every day. Not just call them on the phone, but Skype with them. Ask them how are they are doing & coping and if there is something you can do for them.
4 – Practice 4 major breaks to keep your physical self in shape. Schedule exercises and keep them to keep strong.
3 – Provide support for 3 entities that need help. It does not matter if you use money or not. Support charities, order take-away food from your favourite restaurant if possible, volunteer for a good cause. Help keeping society and good services running and not disappearing.
2 – Help you & your partner families. Parents, siblings, Cousins, … Make sure that they are fine spiritually and physically. Lift their spirit up – share some great memories. Plan some great future.
1 – There is only one you, so take a good care of yourself – mentally and physically. If you are not here, you won’t be able to help others and will do more harm then help. Consider meditation, consider isolating yourself for a couple of minutes from the others to nurture yourself.
And quoting the incredible Maya Angelou – “there is an African saying which is: “Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt”“.
And over & over again: Please, please, PLEASE – Do not be selfish!
Now … 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 !