So, the world is a little crazy right now. Feels like everything got turned upside down and in very short order. For me, it was during the week of the full moon and Friday the 13th that I started to really feel it. March’s full moon was a Super Worm Moon too, the moon most associated with the coming of spring and of growth (and I do realize how hard and painful growth can be). All of the stores closed and the stay at home order makes it feel like each day drags on slower than the one before. It’s funny how fast things can happen.
In truth, this pandemic situation is like a nightmare that I can’t wake up from, and I think many of us feel this way. I’ve been asking myself, what’s really going on here? I see so much division in the name of unity, so much misinformation and so much misuse of statistics and terminology. So much is happening all at once and it is hard to know where to look.
It’s intermission time, folks. So, hurry, hurry, hurry to the concession stand. What’s an intermission really? It is a pause in the action. For athletes playing a game, the intermission is used to strategize game plans. For actors, stage managers and run crews in theatre, the intermission is used to change sets and costumes. For the spectators/audience, it is a time for distraction. Like the half time show at the Super Bowl, the spectators are distracted from this pause-in-the-action with the goal that they will stick around for the rest of the game but won’t pay attention to what is going on behind the scenes.
Compare life to a game. Are you a spectator in your life, just letting it happen and watching it change before your eyes, feeling as if you aren’t in control? Or are you “on the court” and really living your life, taking control of the ball and racking up points? There are more challenges to being on the court than being a spectator of course, such as taking risks, taking responsibility for all that you do and working as a team with the other people in the game. You will also need to endure criticism from those who can’t or won’t play the game. But there are also more rewards to being in the game and living life to the fullest.
I invite everyone to take this involuntary intermission in all of our lives to look at your life and the way you’ve always done things. Ask yourself, “do my old ways still serve me?” Is there anything in my life I would like to change? What has been working? What hasn’t?
If you do find yourself looking for distractions, it is a sign that there is something that you need to look at within yourself and are avoiding. Avoiding something will only make whatever it is that you are avoiding, stick around. Is that what you are really wanting? No; it’s the opposite of what you want. People often do things that will get them the exact opposite results of what they think they want.
Remember that the best way to get fulfillment out of life and to help the people closest to you get fulfillment out of their lives (whether that is being a good parent, a good friend/partner or a good neighbor), is to be the best version of yourself. Take care of yourself and take the time to look at how you’ve been doing things. If you are currently a spectator in life and need some encouragement to get back in the game, or out on the court in the first place, don’t hesitate to contact me. I can help.