From My Heart: Finding My ‘Twinkle Lights’ During COVID-19
I have been struggling to ‘find my center’, to discover a sense of balance and calm and find some joy or ‘twinkle lights’ during this time of the COVID-10 Pandemic sweeping the world.
With this struggle, there has been valuable self-discovery and growing humility. Not only am I in one of the ‘vulnerable demographics’ (senior, over 60 with a co-morbidity), I have had opportunities through previous tough life experiences to practice meditation, mindfulness and equanimity. Not so easy this time, my friend!
I am finding myself truly challenged to live by my core values: compassion, generosity, community, sustainability, authenticity, integrity, honesty for example when another part of me (the mama bear ‘fear based’ part of me) is feeling protective, isolationistic and frankly like hiding behind a big wall I am going to build in my front yard!
This is particularly disconcerting as I am trained as a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and as a Mentor Coach with inviteChange and feel I ‘should’ be able to hold true to my values at all times.
What I have actually learned recently, is that I am a toilet paper hoarding, flour and yeast buying (or at least trying), scardey cat who really wants to continue to live and who wants everyone else to live too, especially all my friends and family and all those other people I send love and good wishes to globally in my meditations. Whew, hence the humility is growing. I do acknowledge, which is a valuable reminder, that I too, am ‘perfectly imperfect’.
I am so appreciating the practices and meditations from the ‘Mindful Self Compassion Program’ (co-developed by Kristin Neff PhD and Chris Germer PhD) that I am trained in. As well, the writings of Brene Brown have provided me with soul inspiration and I read one of her quotes this morning which really spoke to me:
“Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments – often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down extraordinary moments.”
These days, our ‘twinkle lights’ are still there, we may have to look in different places, however, they show up.
Some of my “twinkle lights” during the COVID-19 Pandemic are:
- seeing the smiles of my darling grandchildren
- appreciating and enjoying ‘cooking from scratch’ (there is a story here for another time)
- with assorted neighbours, banging pots and making noise at 7 pm (PDT) to appreciate our amazing Health Care Workers
- really sinking into reading a great book
- giggles with my friends via telephone and ZOOM
- holding a spontaneous ‘dance party’ with my fellow ‘self isolators’
- connecting with friends and family in a deeper way
- doing a ‘life audit’ and acknowledging all the amazing people and experiences that have contributed to who I am today.
- seeing the emerging new layer and level of universal Kindness that seems to be occuring around the world.
Enjoy your day my friends and may you find your ‘twinkle lights’ today!
More information about Mindful Self Compassion can be found through the link
Upcoming trainings that I am participating in can be found through Mindful Self Compassion for Life
in kindness,
Zoey
“Coaching isn’t about telling somebody what to do … it is the most deeply respectful interaction I have seen of all the human development modalities that draws out from a person the things they have never told anybody else about what matters most” – – Janet Harvey, MCC inviteChange
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