Embrace the Stillness

Pause. Whatever you’re doing right now, just pause for a second.

Take a second to stop and breathe.

And think.

Think about this question….When is the last time you’ve had this much free time? When is the next time you will ever have this much free time again? Probably never. Well hopefully, we never have another pandemic like this.

But honestly, how amazing is this? We have been blessed with an exuberant amount of free time. How have you been using it? Crushing the productivity game? Or been binging a dozen and a half Netflix shows?

I challenge you to take some time today to stop and reflect on how you’ve been using your free time the past few weeks.

There has never been a time in the history of any of our lives where we were all challenged like this at the same time.

This is a time where we can really take the time to reflect on what is important in our lives. What have we been dedicating time to.

I feel like when all of this finally blows over, we will realize how little we actually need. Hopefully it will also help us realize how important relationships are in our lives. Praise the good Lord above that this is the time that all of this is happening. We have so much technology and we are able to stay connected with everyone so easily! With video chatting and social media, we could not have an easier time staying together while we’re being forced to stay apart.

We are all being called into something unfamiliar, maybe something uncomfortable. All at the same time. We are all being called to embrace this time, this stillness. It’s kind of beautiful because while we are being told to stay apart, this is the time when we most come together. Not in the physical sense, because ya know #socialdistancing, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had people reach out to me who I haven’t talked to in years. And vice versa, I’ve also reached out to some people who I don’t talk to very often. It has been incredible to see how even though our circumstances are pulling us apart, it’s actually bringing us together as a community. What an amazing blessing this is!

I know this situation is new for all of us and it might be difficult to embrace it. Trust me, I have not touched another human being in 15 days and I literally just want to hug someone more than anything! I can absolutely 100% understand if you’re getting stir crazy or you’re getting bored, or your family is driving you crazy. You’re not alone! I think we’re all kind of reaching that point. Reach out to a friend to talk about it, because I can almost guarantee they’re probably going through the same thing.

But what has helped me the past few weeks is not focusing on what I could be doing right now. Yes, we all had plans that had to change, trips that were cancelled, gatherings that were postponed, and that totally sucks. It honestly, genuinely, and completely sucks. And it is completely okay to be upset about that. I think we can all agree that it’s difficult to accept that we all had to drastically change our lives for this.

But honestly, what has personally helped me get through the last few weeks is not focusing on the negatives and all the places I could be right now (if I was still in Europe, I would probably be in Barcelona right now!), but just accepting the situation for what it is. There is no possible way that we can change this predicament that the world is in, so the faster we can accept that and accept the fact that it won’t change, the faster we can see the beauty of it.

I think this is a time where we are all being called into a deeper mindfulness. We have all of this time now to reflect. Reflect on ourselves, our lives, our futures, our beings, our purpose, our dreams, and our desires.

I think that the Man upstairs saw that we are all lost and broken in a lost and broken world and we needed something drastic to happen to renew us. This world that we live in is incredibly fast-paced and many times, we struggle to keep up. How on earth can we have a full-time job, a spouse, kids, a house to take care of, and manage to have personal self-care time, time to cook, try to have a social life, and spend genuine quality time with our friends or family?? It’s almost impossible.

However, right now, it is being made possible for us. Maybe not the full-time job part because that’s on a pause for most people right now. But all of the other stuff. This is a time that we can use to genuinely reflect on what is important to us.

One way we can discover that about ourselves is seeing how we’ve been using our free time. Have you been advancing your mind by reading intellectual books or watching Ted Talks? Have you been trying to learn a new language to be able to communicate with other ethnicities? Have you been taking this time to be creative and learn a new skill or art? Or what about meditating, reflecting, or journaling?

Now is a better time than ever to take the time to learn more about yourself. What you want out of your life, and where you saw yourself at this age when you were younger. Now is the time to truly reflect on if you are where you want to be. If you’re not living a life you would be inspired to live, maybe now is the time for a change. If you are someone who was laid off due to this situation (my heart genuinely hurts for you and I have been praying for you), maybe take this time to reflect on if that job brought you genuine joy. If it didn’t, maybe this is all a blessing in disguise and you can use this time to research new career paths, or different jobs in the field you love.

I know we all want our lives to just get back to normal, but don’t let this time slip away from you. Use it to embrace where you are and where you want to be. Once this whole thing blows over, it could be a renewal of the world as we know it. Be a part of that renewal. One of the positives of this lock down is that we are realizing all of the things that we took for granted. When we get back into “normal” life, let’s try not to take those things for granted anymore. If you genuinely missed spending time with your friends, tell them that. If you missed going to school, tell that to your professors. If you missed going to work, think about that feeling every time you’re dreading going in for the day.

This is a time where we can all start fresh. We have this time to be challenged and to be pulled out of our “normal”. But we are all going to come out of this stronger. I hope this will be a beautiful renewal to our world, with all of us leaning on each other more, learning how to better come together as a community, and how to be genuinely grateful for all the blessings we have in our lives.

Trying to find things to help keep you busy, productive and positive? Check out this post on things getting me through quarantine!

This is the season (s)he will make beautiful things. Not perfect things. But honest things that speak to who (s)he is and who (s)he is called to be

Morgan Harper Nichols

Check out episode one of my Quarantine Chronicles! More episodes to come soon!