| Dear John, Yesterday I had a conversation with a good friend, Sarah, who told me a story about her brother and his family that I wanted to share with you this week. Turns out, her brother and his two young boys are serious sports fanatics. Sarah’s brother is a soccer coach for one team, and his sons play the game on two other teams. His wife, a faithful fan, spent weekends chaperoning the kids from one event to another, often in different states, sometimes having to stay in hotels in between. My friend Sarah shared a photo she received from her sister-in-law of the whole family huddled in bed watching a movie on Saturday morning. Sarah texted me, “I don’t know if they’ve ever done anything like this before. Life certainly is changing.” And it is. All over the world, people are being asked to stay put to help stop the pandemic and as hard as this is for us (on multiple levels), there are glimpses of hope and healing. So many are offering their money, resources, and information to help those in need. People report finally clearing their homes of the clutter that’s tormented them for decades. Many are spending more time outdoors than they have in years. Homes are coming to life in new ways as projects get completed – yards cleaned up, curtains hung, rooms repainted. People are cooking meals and sitting down together for dinner and great conversations. Creativity is flowing and millions of business owners are crafting new ways to serve and/or stay in touch with customers. A crisis has a way of clearing the decks and helping us see what really matters, doesn’t it? When structures and routines fall away we come face-to-face with our limitations, and it forces us to grow as we’re pushed to the edge of what’s comfortable and familiar. Last week I started asking myself some unusual questions: What doesn’t really matter to me anymore? What don’t I miss doing? Who am I without my old life? What’s great about this situation? How can I use this experience to become a more conscious, loving, enlightened person? Technological advancement without higher consciousness is a recipe for disaster. We can’t keep innovating, expanding, and growing the outer world without innovating, expanding, and growing the inner one. We need more awareness of our impact on the planet, more emotional intelligence, more thoughtfulness, and patience. And we’re now getting a crash course in developing these inner qualities. Throughout the years, as I’ve walked with clients through a variety of life crises like the loss of a job, the failure of a business, the ending of a marriage, or the diagnosis of a serious illness, not only did I do my best to provide useful coping strategies and practical advice, I did my best to point to the light at the end of the darkness when they couldn’t see past their fear. Today I understand this need on a more global scale: Greater consciousness is that light. Love,
Cheryl
P.S. – Please join me for a Facebook Live on Monday (3/23), at 12pm (noon) ET/9am PT, here.
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