We'll Be Fine and Reach Cloud Nine in 2021

I’m 42 and still planning to be on cloud nine by chasing rainbows while bareback riding unicorns in 2021. I’ve had my fair share of “real jobs,” and now I’m pursuing dreams and sharing insights about living a healthier and more rewarding life.

I started as a graduate of the University of Porto and worked as a teacher. I ended up jobless, went back to Boot Camp, and served as an army sergeant for seven years.

Afterward, I traveled to Belgium and worked in Project Management for the European Commission for another five years.

I came back home to Portugal just before the coronavirus outbreak. For a year now, like so many of us, I had to revamp my life and find ways to reinvent myself. At the same time, I aspired to become a better human and a more humane sentient being.

Chasing rainbows to cloud nine

The rainbow is a powerful symbol for a “fresh start.” Rainbows symbolize renewal, hope, and the lasting connection between heaven and earth.

From a spiritual and biblical perspective, a rainbow represents God's covenant with humanity and a promise of redemption. A new world free from catastrophic events like the Great-Flood.

"Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 9, 16)

In the 1960s, the rainbow became one of the New Age movement symbols connecting people seeking spiritual evolution.

This phenomenon also represents the bridge used by gods and heroes to travel the path between earth and heaven. Buddha descended from the sky using a seven-colored ladder, a rainbow.

Rainbows have seven colors, each with its meaning: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

1. Red: passion, strength, and courage;
2. Orange: harmony;
3. Yellow: youth and energy;
4. Green: hope and luck;
5. Blue: transparency, infinity, and eternity;
6. Indigo: discipline;
7. Violet: spirituality.

Recently, rainbows became the symbol of humanity struggle against COVID-19. The idea originated on Facebook and spread like wildfire across the social network groups. Suddenly rainbows were everywhere; I could see them on every window and all over social media.

Kids were drawing rainbows at school faster than we could print them on our office’s Xerox. I was a symbol of faith and confidence in a brighter future ahead for children and children-at-heart alike.

My New Year’s resolutions

I worked in the European Bubble in Brussels and lived a stressful life for five years. I was spending 12 hours at work, and I was getting dangerously close to burnout when I decided to take a U-turn in my life again.

After being a workaholic for too many years, staying at home during a global pandemic could have turned me into the torpid sloth that refuses to budge off its tree branch.

Knowing how old habits die-hard, for 2021, I decided to pursue my career in life-coaching and go back to content writing.

“Health is a state of body. Wellness is a state of being.” — J. Stanford

My wellness goals for 2021

Becoming a life-coach means that we need to understand the concept of chaos. In hindsight, we now realize how the COVID-19 crisis recalls Murphy’s harbinger: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

During my life-coaching sessions, I always start by explaining how mindfulness is a path from chaos to calm.

When we perceive chaos as our friend and not as an enemy, we remove entropy from the equation. Thus, in 2021, I plan to accept chaos instead of resisting it so that my conscious mind may resonate with my inner self and improve my general well-being.

Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder — Petyr Baelish, Game of Thrones

During 2020, there were moments when I experienced an exponential lack of control over myself, my emotions, and my actions. To deal with this problem, I resorted to active mindfulness.

How to practice active mindfulness

Now is the time to go clean slate; thus, I plan to introduce active mindfulness in my daily routines to shun sedentary habits.

I realized I don’t need to be still and disconnected from the world to be in cloud nine. Active mindfulness is the ability to maintain a thoughtful stance while engaging in everyday activities.

I'm currently following my four pillars of active mindfulness:

1. Mind your feelings, not your beliefs;
2. Be mindful of what you eat;
3. Understand your emotions;
4. Stay mindful when exercising.

Captain Sir Thomas Moore set a great example of active mindfulness. The British Army veteran decided to raise 1000 pounds for the UK’s National Health Service before his 100th birthday during the first lockdown.

He ended up raising 33 million pounds ($41 million) and became the largest individual fundraiser in the United Kingdom’s history.

As a side note, while writing this piece, I heard that Captain Moore is in the hospital with coronavirus. My thoughts are with him and his family. He has been such an inspiration, and I wish him a full recovery.

"— You’ll never walk alone, Sir!"

Final Thoughts

Writing these words, I feel confident in my plan for an increasingly mindful lifestyle, and I am taking baby steps on my path towards enlightenment and wellness.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” — Buddha

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Thanks for reading this article. Please feel free to come back at any time and pick up another thread from my Vocal book of content. Till next time, cheers.

-Rui