As with life on the road, life at home is filled with twists and turns that trigger a “wow, that’s great” response or an “I can’t believe this is happening” response. I think it is human nature or at least human learned behavior to want to label “what is” rather than just accept it “as is”. I had two experiences on the road that really brought home to me the reality that in a given moment it is an illusion that we can know whether what is happening is in fact “good” or “bad” as we don’t yet know the consequences. For instance, twice while biking we experienced delays brought on by obstacles such as poor roads and weather and were quite quick to respond dejectedly with the “I can’t believe this is happening” response only to find 30 minutes or so later that terrible accidents had occurred ahead of us that we would likely have been caught up in had we not been delayed by the other obstacles. What we had initially perceived as “terrible” quite likely saved our lives. This may be an extreme example, but if you think about it I’m sure you can come up with similar situations in your lives.
As I think about the impact of coronavirus, I’m reminded of memoirs from people who grew up in the Great Depression that emphasized that as much as they suffered, they learned to rely on family, friends and their own ingenuity. Despite everything that is happening today that is out of our control, our willingness to embrace the experience as is, without judgment, is within our control.
This is all a long winded way of sharing one of my favorite stories: The Tale of the Chinese Farmer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzxprrfoEMM). Please take a minute to listen to it. Smile and have a beautiful day :) Isabella