I’m writing this blog post after having been awake since the wee hours of the morning. I have my incense lit and a hot black coffee on my nightstand. In my favorite sheets on my bed with the morning light streaming through the window. It’s about week 6 of lockdown for everyone. Week 7 for me as I got symptoms a week before the lockdown was instigated and had to self isolate. I believe it was just a cough but those are the rules. It’s been a rather strange experience for me. As I’m sure it has for everyone else. There have been several sides to me. The hopeful side. The motivated side. The apathetic side. The fearful side. I’ve visited every one of these states.

It is a very sad and uncertain time for all of us – so many deaths. So much isolation.So much financial worry. And then there’s the thought of “what if life is never the same again? What new normal are we heading towards?”

Now I love to have time to myself – it’s one of my most powerful ways to regenerate my energy. I have really enjoyed the freedom of using my time the way I like. There seems to be a recurring theme on social media and I’ve noticed it in my personal life too. A dichotomy between two expectations. A – this is an amazing opportunity for those who are well to use the newfound time to create the lifestyle that they always dreamed of. To make changes. To build something new. B – we are going through a traumatic experience and shouldn’t put pressure on ourselves. We need to give ourselves permission to feel unmotivated and do nothing if we need to.

Might I suggest that we can do both? Perhaps self-care is about knowing ourselves enough to listen to what we need and respond from there? It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. A day of Netflix bingeing can be very healthy for a person who feels unsure and needs to process their feelings. Sometimes the healing, the inspiration, and the plan happen in the background while getting lost in the stories and drama of a really good movie or series. Other days, one might feel inspired to get lost in some creative past time – like painting or knitting. Or in a computer game. Those who know me well know that I am a huge fan of the sims!

What I am saying is that our service to humanity, the fulfillment of our life purpose, and the knowing that we have not come to the end of our lives with our music unplayed, comes from strengthening the relationship with ourselves. With our very own soul.

This means choosing how you spend your time and ensuring that’s authentically what you want to do at the moment. What makes you come alive? What activity gets you in a state where you are totally engrossed and time flies by without you realizing? What makes your soul sing? This may change from moment to moment. One hour it may be cleaning out a draw or organizing your home. The next it may be getting lost in a good book or going for a walk in nature. When you fill your own cup, you have the resources to serve humanity by leading the way to authenticity and shining your light brightly.

Basically, you do you, boo!

And know this – life may never be the same. We are all missing our families and people are suffering and the big scary and the fear feel very real and there probably is a genuine risk. Life is a cycle and suffering comes and goes. Wars happen, famine, natural disasters. This is not always in our control. But things always change. If they can change for the worse, they will certainly change for the better.

What is in our control? The way we live our lives and the difference we make in our own sphere of influence. My source of strength? The Divine Creator. The ultimate energy source that is benevolent and awaits your invitation to guide you in your highest good. How do you develop your relationship with yourself? Follow through with your promises to yourself. Pray. Meditate. Dance. Walk. Listen. Take action.

“The most important thing is to hold on, hold out, for your creative life, for your solitude, for your time to be and do, for your very life, hold on, for the promise from the wild nature is this: After winter, Spring always comes!”

Women Who Run With Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

Stay safe.

Love and blessings to you all,

Lucy Loizou

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