inspiration
Coronavirus as a Calling by Gregg Levoy N
ot to diminish the fact that we’re dealing with a serious and world-
wide epidemiological threat, the pandemic can be transmuted into golden opportuni- ties, especially if we follow the sometimes blind spiritual instinct that tells us this crisis—indeed each of our individual lives—has purpose and meaning, and that we need to act on this impulse despite the temptation to back down and run for cover. Here are four ways to respond to the call of these turbulent times:
Use it as a reset. For months, it has been impossible to conduct busyness-as-usual, and we may be leſt with unaccustomed time on our hands. But like the asteroid that ushered out the dinosaurs and gave the mammals underfoot a shot at promi- nence, once the thunder lizards of every- day busyness and distraction are sidelined, parts of us that are normally overshad- owed may be given an entrance cue—not just projects we’ve back-burnered in deference to the daily grind, but deeper thoughts and feelings about our priori- ties, the status quo, work/life (im)balance or our inner life. T e better part of valor and wisdom may lie in asking, “What can I learn here?” rather than, “How can I overcome this?”
Consider it a powerful
meditation.Medi- tation teachers tell us that distractions aren’t obstacles, they are the meditation, so that we say to ourselves, “Ah, the dog-bark meditation,” or “Ah, the weed-whacker meditation.” T e same with the coronavi- rus. Approach it not just as a distraction
from our goals and how it can block our intentions, but as a vehicle of meditation it- self: How do we feel, what wants to emerge and what do we truly know?
Appreciate it as connective tissue in society. We’re seeing fi rsthand how our individual actions can aff ect those around us, for better and for worse, and that we de- pend on one another for survival. Washing our hands and sheltering in place are acts of both self-care and community care. In the weeks following 9/11 when the fi ction of our invulnerability was so shockingly revealed, many of us began holding doors open for strangers, spending more time with our kids, honking less and listening more. Life’s fragility, our fragility, woke us up to our need for each other. Now that social isola- tion is suddenly forced on us, it reminds us how precious those connections are.
Approach it as a reminder of mortality. T e pandemic is a perfect opportunity to practice the fi ne and fearsome art of non- attachment, because life will ultimately ask us to surrender everything. “We all owe God a death,” Shakespeare wrote. We can use this time to clarify what’s important and how to best use our precious nick of time. When we strip ourselves of any il- lusions of immortality, we are thus free to live our lives to the fullest.
Gregg Levoy is the author of Callings: Find- ing and Following an Authentic Life and Vital Signs: T e Nature and Nurture of Pas- sion, and a regular blogger for Psychology Today. Learn more at
GreggLevoy.com.
October 2020 19
serejkakovalev/
AdobeStock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
