COVID-19: A Whole New World

At a time when most of us feel we are standing on the edge of a cliff, a precipice unto the unknown, the universe is ushering in a new Earth.

I'd like to share a realization I had this month. It came to me in the early afternoon when I was looking up at the trees before me, appreciating how they grow toward the sun and reach toward the sky. I had lowered my head and stared at the wide trunks and knotted roots decorating the soil, when I realized I would not know the tops of trees if I never looked up. Looking up granted me access to a whole new world. A simple action, a movement of grace, gave me the opportunity to witness a reality greater than the one previously known to me.

Perspective is everything. And while this truth is widely known and perhaps somewhat cliche, it is a truth that permeates our existence at every moment. So what does that mean now? What does perspective mean in the face of “unprecedented times?”

Well, I think it means...

Opportunity.

Infinite opportunity to look up- to dream, to create, and to build. To realize who we truly are at our centers. Our world teaches us that there are formulas and structures with which we must adhere to and live by. But, it is here and now, amidst these “unprecedented times” that the universe is asking us this simple question:

“Are we truly alive?”

COVID-19 is the beginning of the end. And it is also the start of a whole new world. I don’t say this to proselytize or prophesize, for I am merely human. I say this because it is my truth. Not long ago, I faced the end of what felt like life itself, but just when the end neared, something greater than myself inspired me to look up. And what I saw gave birth to a whole new version of me. I saw the tops of my trees reaching toward the bluest of skies. I saw a world big enough to love my deepest desires and holiest dreams. I saw potential. I saw the infinite.

For the first time, I saw myself.

And so, this global, existential crisis is ironically providing the world with this very opportunity.

The opportunity to slow down and pause long enough to take deep breaths- I mean real breaths. The kind of breaths that free you from the shackles of anxiety, fear, and stress.

The opportunity of life itself.

I realize this might be an unpopular opinion and perhaps offensive to some. But if I’ve learned anything in this lifetime, it is that the light that shines from within can be blinding and uncomfortable amidst the darkness. It is only when we pause and breathe that the dust settles and clarity emerges. It is only in the presence of clarity that peace shows us the truth of what is and what can be.

Perhaps, we are being asked to look at our relationships with ourselves. Perhaps the universe is urging us all to sit in solitude, breathe with ourselves, and greet ourselves, maybe for the first time.

This task is not only a massive shift from normalcy for some, but quite challenging and uncomfortable for many. But if we never step back and slow down from "life" and allow the dust to settle, how can we ever see our reflections clearly?

And so, like a body of water settling into silence, giving birth to mirrors- we too are settling into truth. Settling into the truth of our world, collectively and individually.

What truth?

The truth of what is and what can be.

We are disconnected from ourselves, our souls, and each other. The state of our collective vision and our collective truth is reflected in the health of our planet and in the health of our hearts.

Our air is polluted, clouding our vision, our water is poisoned, weighing our bodies down with toxins, and our food is compromised, yielding diseases in the form of fear and hatred. But what stands out to me most is not the perceived evils that plague our species. Instead, it is our perspective. It is our refusal to look up. Our refusal to see more than what we’ve known. For what is, is not a death sentence, but an opportunity for more.

An opportunity for transformation and rebirth.

This is a revolutionary shift, an armageddon of change with peace waiting in the wings of this theater called Earth. For all you quantum nerds, the matrix is finally falling apart. But as things go in our universe, where one thing ends, another must begin.

So, what can we do, as we begin again?

I think we can all start by asking ourselves some questions.

1. Who am I?

2. What is my purpose here on Earth?

3. What makes my heart sing?

4. If I could close my eyes and dream of heaven on Earth, what would it look like?

In a world founded in fear, we are being given the opportunity to build a world founded in love.

Growing up, my dad would always say, “Humans have lost their humanity.” Maybe we are being given the chance to discover it again, or remember it rather. I truly believe empathy is the crux of life and when we deny empathy, we deny life itself.

And so, to embrace life, means to embrace all of life, every facet, every manifestation, and every being. And while my words are filled with faith and love, I do not deny the suffering and pain in our world right now. In fact, now is not a time to deny others in the name of “positivity,” but instead a time to face what is, what we’ve built, what systems we’ve adhered to, and truly look up.

Look up and see the tops of our trees growing toward the bluest of skies. Look up and dream bigger than what we’ve ever known possible. Look up and experience the infinite possibilities before us.

Look up.

I’ll end this here, with some lyrics by Indie.Arie:

I'm not the mistakes that I have made

Or any of the things that caused me pain

I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind

I am light, I am light