Each day, headlines bring news of the coronavirus and the actions people are taking to not get sick. Schools and offices are closing. Travel plans and conferences are getting canceled. There’s been a run on everything from black beans to toilet paper. The stock market is a roller coaster.
As frightening as the virus, is the uncertainty it’s causing. Amid the fear and uncertainty, I’m reminded of why I practice mindfulness.
A fellow meditation teacher recently encouraged her students to check inside and see what all the fear and uncertainty is stirring up. You’ve been training for this, she told them, and now it’s time to use your practice. That’s wise advice, and will remain so as the COVID-19 situation evolves in the days, weeks and likely months ahead.
Sometimes we think of mindfulness as fluffy and soft. But mindfulness is built for difficulty. It’s like a Hummer without the gas guzzling, capable of traveling over rough terrain while keeping its occupants above ground.
Investigating fear with mindfulnessLately, I’ve been mindful of the one-to-one correlation between the news I’ve been reading and my own reactivity. Some of it…
