Living in A Pandemic World By Shifting Your Focus To Regain Happiness

Determination is great but….. how are you going about dealing with this major life change brought on by this pandemic? Prior to the pandemic we were very much future focused in terms of our daily lives. Things like making plans to meet up with friends, hosting   parties, participating in various forms entertainment such as concerts, conventions, movies, theater etc., and of course, travel. Now, many people are working from home and also taking classes at home and home schooling their children. All in a blink of the eye. That’s a lot to take in all at once. Our brains are reeling causing feelings ranging from concern to depression to denial to outright panic. It’s natural for the brain to go to the negative. This is where the ego kicks in to protect us from harm on a most basic level. Somewhere underneath this ego of ours is the voice of a different kind of reason. This is our intuitive, spiritual self. It is called your intuition. It's that little voice or your gut feeling. However you identify it, know that each and every one of us has it. Intuition is not the purview of psychics and tarot readers. The difference is in the awareness and development of this “other” side of us. When the news of the seriousness of the pandemic reached us, our focus was on the immediate circumstances. Your thoughts were no doubt focused on things like: What do I do? What will happen to my job? My finances? My trip? My health? My family? The economy? In thinking about this, do you remember how you felt? Perhaps words ranging from uneasy to panic come to mind. The focus was very much on dealing with the very practical matters at hand and also getting as much information you could. This is not only natural but it was key to survival on the most practical level. However, once the immediate tasks are taken care of, it’s time to shift the focus from practical needs to needs that run deeper inside us. As spiritual beings, we are comprised of higher needs such as intellectual curiosity and knowledge, peacefulness and love connections. Our well  being is not dependent solely on a full stomach and a comfortable place to live and sleep as it is for many animals. However, it seems that the animals are a bit better off than we are and that is because their focus is only on the present. When they are sleepy they sleep. They eat when they are hungry. They don’t worry about when their next meal is going to be. Animals don’t suffer from any of the stress related illnesses that humans do. The reason is that they live in the moment. When we live in the past, we life in a state of nostalgia or regret over something that is gone. It can cause us to feel depressed and unmotivated. So thinking about of all of the things that you used to be doing before the pandemic arrived is counter productive to your sense well being and will at best leave you feeling frustrated. We must shift our focus out of past. When we  shift our focus to the future, when things will get better , there is a modicum of satisfaction there. I know for instance,  that the scientists will come to learn all they need to know about this virus in order to have some strategies available to curb and heal this situation. I know that businesses will come up with safer ways of doing business under circumstances like this and I understand that all of this will take time. The problem though, with focusing on the future is that, like the past, it does not exist. So, by putting my focus on something that is not real I will become anxious about “when this is going to happen which will then lead to questioning if this is going to happen. While my soul understands and trusts that there will be a future, the ego starts leading you down a fearful road of what ifs. It looks as if focusing on the future might not be the best solution. I can acknowledge that I know solutions will be discovered. I just don’t want to put my focus on it. Well, that just leaves one place left. The present. By putting our focus on the present, we will find our best coping strategy for unprecedented times. The reason this is true is because we have control of the present. We live here and we can make decisions that effect our lives right now. We can decide to let go of worry and regrets and instead live each day with as much joy as we can muster.