The pandemic has been hard on people. There is a small group of lucky folks who haven’t had a lot to cope with. But otherwise, even historically resilient and capable people are struggling with issues around focus, concentration and attention.
My own plans to respond to that need have been complicated by COVID and the steady expansion of my parents’ dementia, which was exacerbated by the lock-down. Their needs have expanded considerably, yet, you still need the help and I also need to earn a living just like everyone else.
Good time-management will be critical. Despite not wanting to delay those other worthwhile projects, I would not feel ‘right’ about being the me I am if I failed to respond to the COVID mental health crisis the same way my parents responded to WWII –by being in service.
That being the case, I will defer those other projects for a short time while I focus on helping people through this final psychologically challenging portion of the pandemic. In the place of those other projects I will be doing weekday mental health assignments.
To help ensure that each of us gets periods of being grounded, focused and content, each weekday I will post a list of three simple psycho-spiritual to-do’s. They will mix and match, and certain ones will repeat for good reason.
These will be designed to be done quickly and easily. And for anyone earnest they should compile over time into a greater sense of direction, and focus. We will gain a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment. and a deeper presence of, and appreciation for, the moment we’re in.
Those effects eventually all combine into have us spending more time with positive feelings that help us feel good about ourselves, about others, and about the state of the world. And that’s essentially what it feels like to enjoy life.
In addition to doing the list yourself, I would encourage you to spend this weekend finding at least one other person to join you. The effects of these meditations are subtle and build over time. So as easy as they are, any gentle responsibility we feel toward each other can help to maintain our forward motion on this valuable, yet slowly unfolding resolution.
This will be like doing an enjoyable form of Psychological Boot Camp for a Pandemic. We’ll start Monday January 4th.
If we intend for this to be a Happy New Year, we can improve our odds considerably by engaging in this daily positive practice that is designed to help all of us to start each day with both confidence and purpose. I look forward to having you join us.
See you then.
peace. s
