If you are like me, then you have gone through a wild ride of emotions these past few weeks dealing with concerns related to income shortage, how to pay the bills, the overall economy, maintaining a healthy presence for the kiddos, managing the days, limiting grocery store trips, fears around health, wondering how long social distancing will last, and how best to plan for the future.  As I was struggling through one of these issues the other night, I heard an internal voice say, “Relax and surrender. This time is about resting and regenerating.” The communication quickly changed from a voice to the imprint of an idea manifesting in my thoughts that we as a human race are so busy “doing,” we don’t know how to be. We are human “beings” after all. And that is much of what those of us stuck in quarantining are challenged to do:  just be.  

Allow me to interject here for a moment to acknowledge that entire portions of our population are experiencing the extreme opposite of boredom through feverishly working at essential jobs, most likely more than 40 hours per week.  We have first responders serving on the front line, heroes risking their lives to save lives in hospitals, and janitors sanitizing our virus-riddled world. Plus, we have workers laboring at farms or factories, engineers conducting trains, truckers driving tractor trailers, and managers overseeing grocery stores all to guarantee our food supply remains intact.  I know I represent everyone by expressing my deep, heart-felt gratitude for the millions of people who are saving our world right now as the rest of us are stuck at home feeling restless and stressed in our own unique ways.  

So how do we focus on being rather than doing?  Surrender. This new, rapidly-developed quarantined lifestyle has forced everything to slow down or stop, and much of it is beyond our control.  We all possess identity attachments to our jobs, job titles, vehicles, lifestyles, and relationships. But what happens when we’re stipped down to bare basics and confronted with survival?  We have to adjust and, with little ability to influence the big picture, we are forced to surrender.  

For now, we surrender our independence and take care of ourselves and our loved ones.  We surrender our structured schedules and instead get creative about how to fill our time.  We surrender our emotions to the myriad of feelings we’re experiencing as we wade through this uncertainty.  And we surrender our ability to plan our future when so much is still unknown.  

If you are like me, then you are managing new priorities, developing a different routine, simplifying life, and reluctantly learning how to surrender.  Hopefully you’re finding a silver lining to the new lifestyle. This forced quarantine time is a gift if we choose to see it that way. We often wish we had more time.  Life has now dropped it in our laps to make the best of it. And for those moments when you’re feeling anxious, below is an easy 10-minute meditation to help you relax … and surrender.  

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