Shapeshifting: Covid 19 Reflections
Several nights ago, I dreamt that I was dressed as Wonderwoman. I felt a breath of wind kiss my cape and without a second thought, I jumped, only to catch flight on the tail of a breeze. Effortlessly I began to glide like a leaf flirting with the autumn air. Changing directions, surfing the tides of the gale. Upon waking, I realised that in the dream I was no longer myself. I had shape shifted. I was the breeze. I was air. I was oxygen itself. I had become the embodiment of the energy we all need in our current climate.
We must never forget how alive we are, even when surrounded by death and disease. Connect to the life force within by feeling your beating heart , by hearing your voice echo in the quiet. Connect to your life force by acknowledging the soul, that part of us that can never be infected by a virus, that part of us that can never die.
Recently I went outside in the dark of night, and I began to run. Not the tame jog, the stylish run we participate in as adults, but the frantic, free-spirited run of a child. I felt the cold breeze pinch my cheeks, I connected to the thud of my feet as they quickly hit the pavement. I continued to run until I could go no further, and I paused.
I brought full awareness to being out of breath, to that sharp discomfort in my lungs as I breathed the cold air as deeply and quickly as I could. And I basked in this discomfort, as I knew it had not come from disease, but from being fully alive. From breathing in pure life force. The discomfort had come from shapeshifting into powerful, vital energy which supported my body as I ran. The discomfort had come from connecting to the pure joy we experienced as children when we ran so fast we felt that nothing could stop us. We were invincible, we were invisible, untouched by anything that did not serve us. And once I made this connection, I did not consider this sensation a discomfort at all. It was just one of the sensations of being fully alive.
No matter what sensations we are met with during this time, allow them to remind you that you are fully alive.
Every day, put your hand on your chest and breathe deep. Or better yet, run wild (within 2km) and breathe even deeper. Feel the sensation and give gratitude for it. Send love to your lungs, to your heart, to every cell in your body whose only function is to keep you fully alive.
As we retreat, as we are faced with death, remember that there is still so much life to be found. Look to the birds in the sky, who now fly in a less polluted world. The lambs in the fields, the family member sitting next to you or your own reflection in the mirror. We can choose not to give all our power over to this disease. Amid the panic, find a moment of calm and connect to the breath. Be thankful for each one.
Keep your eye on the horizon. We are journeying together towards a brighter world. A world that will be fully alive.