.....a message of love and hope. 

So I don't know about you, but I spent the weekend in a bit of a fear spiral. I knew it was happening but I was drawn to CNN like butter to a potato. 

It wasn't an all-out panic but it was enough to remind me that it doesn't help and it doesn't feel good and it's actually not necessary. 

I know it sure feels necessary right now but one of the real challenges is not letting that voice and that energy suck you in. 

My work in accepting my body in a world that loves to judge bodies and the experience of transforming my career from a steady and dependable lucrative actuarial job to a spiritually focused life coach helping women see their bodies as a gift has taught me a lot about fear, acceptance, allowance, and trust.

Learning to accept my body is small potatoes (what is with the potato analogies?) compared to what I'm being asked to accept today, but it's the same principle - just on a bigger, global scale.

Facing the unknown.

Acknowledging that I don't have as much control as I would like.

Recognizing and challenging my fears.

Asking "who says" when I am given information.

Having compassion for the full spectrum of emotions I experience.

Finding gratitude for things I once took for granted.

Allowing the idea that maybe life can look different and still be ok.

Trusting in my own guidance and wisdom.

Choosing what I believe from a place of love.

Letting go of what no longer serves me.

Opening my heart to new possibilities. 

Receiving unexpected gifts as paradigms are shifting. 

These are the things I have gone through over the last several years and this is what we are going through collectively now.

This experience holds the same energy of diet culture, trying to make you think everything has to look a certain way or you can never be happy and trying to get you to give your power away and put your trust in things outside of you. 

But we are powerful and we all have innate wisdom and resilience and the ability to heal and prosper within us. 

So how do we cultivate THAT? How do we stoke those fires instead of fear? 

We do it in exactly the same way that we cultivate body acceptance and peace with food. 

First, we become aware of the thoughts that are no longer serving us and then we make a choice to encourage new thoughts. 

This does NOT mean that we don't follow protocols and we don't take precautions and we don't act with care. Social distancing is indeed crucial and should not be taken lightly. 

This DOES mean that we do all of that while also attending to our inner world with the same diligence and reverence.

It means we take even BETTER care of ourselves than maybe we did before we realized how important it is to listen to what our bodies need. 

For me, I found myself quoting statistics or calculating catastrophic probabilities this weekend (a habit left over from my decades as a health actuary).  And then I felt into how my body responded when I told it these terrible things.

My body contracted. It left me without access to solutions and innovations. There was tightness in my chest. While everyone else was hoarding toilet paper I bought 6 pounds of butter. Completely illogical (but delicious...). 

So today I am going back to what I have been learning over the past 8 years and taking those principles and applying them to this experience.

Just because this experience feels bigger and scarier doesn't mean that the principles of the universe no longer apply. 

So what does that mean? 

That means I am going to remember to do what I have already seen so many people heartwarmingly do over the last week as things took a turn for the weirder. 

I'm going to go within and nurture my body, mind, and spirit. I'm going to prioritize sunshine and fresh air and home-cooked meals.  I'm going to get quiet and ask my heart what I need to know. 

I am going to move my body and spend time with my children and intentionally invoke laughter and playfulness. 

I am going to share with my community - both online and in-person - either the words that I have to give or my calmness and presence. 

I am going to tune in and find out innovative ways that I can serve and give back and support others around me. 

I am going to limit my time on Facebook and watching the news. 

It is truly a time for some "little house on the prairie" back to basics. I mean - they did not lead an easy life, but they laughed and loved and showed up for all the experiences that came their way. 

I am going to keep asking, "what else is possible?". I am going to keep asking, "how can I help?".  I am going to keep connecting to the power of my heart and projecting it into the world around me and invite others to do the same. 

There are so many resources popping up all over the place for connection and support and I will share those as I become aware of them. Like this one, from a meditation retreat center in CT, offering group meditation online which a client shared with me.  

You can follow me on Facebook if you want to see links that I will post when I come across useful information and I will keep sending out these emails. 

I would also love to hear what you are doing to go within and support yourself and your community.  I know the collective already has so many wonderful ideas and ideas are something we will never run out of if we can continue to tap into our inner resources. 

If you find your food just got harder to navigate or you'd like some support with centering and grounding, please send me an email.

If you know of anyone who can benefit from these words, please share this email or invite people to sign up for my newsletter. 

I am also considering a group video call a few times a week for people to check-in and know they aren't alone. I will share details on this later but let me know if you would find this useful. 

If there is anything else you would like to share or need, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

We are all in this together. 

Image by Aline Ponce from Pixabay