The screeching brakes of the world have sounded, and all its passengers now have emotional whiplash.
And time. Lots of time.
How often have we wished life would slow down so we could do more of the things we wanted? (Careful what you wish for, huh?) We seem to be addicted to things that keep us separated from ourselves, and now that it matters what we believe, what anchors us to a sense of hope, what helps us manage our emotions when things go awry - we feel lost.
But are we really? Can we ever be lost from the most powerful aspect of being human, which is to truly know ourselves?
No. We cannot. And now that we have more time to focus on that, maybe we can use it to gain some perspective. To say to ourselves, “This is how I perceive what is going on in the world. This is how I feel about it. This is how I choose to live my life in the middle of chaos over which I have little control.”
A pen, some paper, and a kind invitation from yourself to come inside for a bit is so much bigger than it sounds. Writing will calm you down, but it will make you stronger, too. And more certain about what you believe. And more inspired to be here in the world, using the gifts you were given, to leave the kind of imprint you want to leave. It will help you process the tangle of emotions we are all feeling, so that you can keep your balance in the days and weeks ahead.
We are living in surreal times
Salvador Dali, painter of the famous melting clocks, wanted to force his viewers to encounter something indescribable, undefinable, unknowable. To make us wonder, even if just for a second—what is real?
He believed that logical thought was at the root of all the world’s problems. And who knows, maybe it is. We are certainly made up of more than our logical brains. We have hearts. We have souls. We have magic in our bones.
And we need all those qualities to get through times of crisis. Don’t let yourself go another day without checking in, putting pen to paper, making all that lies wondrously inside of you real.
When you can’t count on truth coming from the outside, you will always find it inside.
Stay well, and know we’re all in this together.
ps: If you want to write, but aren't sure where to start, start anywhere, or start here: