When the walls start closing in

 Today I have read articles about how we are only at the half-way point of the marathon of living with Covid 19 and, in Australia, our hopes for a better 2021 have been dashed by new outbreaks and concerns about the new more contagious variant of the Virus. All of this can leave us feeling that the walls are closing in again, especially if we have been placed in lock-down or been told to isolate due to places we have unwittingly visited. It can feel a bit like groundhog day! 

However, these are some of the things which I have found helpful when I have felt the walls beginning to close in on me:

Looking out

Fear and anxiety can cause us to become stuck looking inwards at our own reactions, so if we can reach out towards others instead, this can change our perspective. Remembering that we are not alone, that the whole world (or even just our community) is in this together, finding mutual ways to support and comfort people we know, and having empathy for others, can all help us to look outwards instead of inwards.

Looking up

I love looking up at the skies (in all the diverse and constantly changing moods), and up into the canopies of trees, to places that are Covid 19 free, where birds continue to fly free without being weighed down by the problems of the earth. It is good to be reminded that there are worlds above our troubled existence.

Giving it to God

When it all becomes too much, I am reminded that there is a God who has this in His care, who is watching over us, and providing us with comfort, protection and strength, if we but reach out to Him. So many things are too difficult to control, make sense of, or resolve -- and these I put in my "too hard" basket, and then give it to God. We can also pray for others, no matter where they are, and recently I have discovered that it is helpful to pray through news bulletins. 

Changing deprivations and restrictions into acts of love

Earlier in the Pandemic I realised that practicing social distancing, wearing masks, sanitising hands and respecting the rules was actually about giving to others, rather than depriving ourselves. This can make a huge difference to living in fear (which is about looking inwards at ourselves) and is another way of re-focusing outwards.

Remember: Healing isn't about overcoming the pain; it's living despite it. Hannah Blum