Well here we are in December, the last month of 2020. This year flew by so fast and for me even though we went through/still going through this pandemic, I have so much to be grateful for and I always try to see the positive in the situation. I believe that what really helped me a lot was- meditation. I have been practicing meditation for a few years now and with daily practice, I’ ve learned to control my thoughts, be less worried and anxious and gained an increased sense of personal power and inner peace. Meditation is a simple way to do self care. In the beginning when I first started to meditate, I thought I was doing it all wrong because thoughts, all kinds of random thoughts, things to do, things that annoyed me, whatever thoughts would surface would come up and I would try to engage it by trying so hard to remove it from coming up. With ongoing practice, I’ve learned that meditation is me having control over my thoughts by not trying to control my thoughts. Instead, I learned to just let it be, and to notice the intention of my inhale. When you inhale that breath and focus on it, you are breathing life. It’s a reminder that you are alive, safe, and ok. No need to worry, no need to be anxious no need to get anything done but just breathe and be present and grounded. You are safe. You don’t need to do anything or take care of things. This is your time. It’s to remind yourself that you are important and you matter, and you need to take care of you first.
I want to close out this year as with every year feeling and being hopeful and optimistic. This year started out wonderful. I celebrated my 50th birthday in February in Rome, Italy and came back to NYC a couple of weeks before the lockdown. It was very scary to see NYC, a city that never sleeps be on pause, empty and eerily quiet. The city eventually opened up slowly, in 4 phases. Despite the opening of many businesses, the city was no where near normal. Many people moved out, many were struggling financially and there was so much anxiety and stress as we can all imagine. Recently, there have been reports of the virus resurging in some communities and we were restricted to celebrating up to 10 people for Thanksgiving. I had 4 people and we were all tested and lucky because we didn’t have to go out there and run the risk of being exposed. I am grateful everyday for the folks that helped the city move along despite the risk on their own health and their families. I appreciate every UPS and Fedex person who delivered my online orders. I appreciate the front/first line responders- the NYPD, FDNY all the health care workers, caregivers, volunteers, Social service staff, security guards, food delivery folks, MTA personnel and many more for their courage and sacrifice to keep the city safe and to provide help to those in need. I think we are far from getting back to normal, but I learned that in life, when a situation happens, we find that inner strength and resilience and create a new normal, whatever that may be. One way to find that inner strength is through prayer and meditation. Investing in your self care is another. You can’t pour from an empty cup. We need to fill our selves with positivity, self love and gratitude.
So as I reflect back on this year, I choose to not think about how awful it was because it wasn’t all terrible. I choose to be grateful, grateful for the fact that I am breathing, safe, alive and have the ability and the desire to give back and help others who are vulnerable and in need for someone to lean on.
Thank you.
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