Today I was doing Yoga with Adriene, with my daughter Sarah. We were just getting started and the the yoga instructor said these words ~ “The task today is not to do anything but to simply recognize”. I thought this was a very interesting statement for two reasons. First, because I never feel like I am doing anything unless I am accomplishing something. Second, because where our world is today. Most of us are living a life where we are not able to go about our regular schedules. The coronavirus has taken away, for so many of us, the ability to run through our regular accomplishments.
There are so many bad things that have come from this, and our lives are on hold. If you listen to the news, there are so many bad consequences. So many true concerns that cannot be avoided. Kids can not go to school, businesses are closed, and we have no idea how long our lives will continue to look like this. However, if I say again, “The task today is not to do anything but to simply recognize?” ~in the form of a question, I think we can use take this and maybe find something we all need.
My life is slightly calmer as my kids are older, but I remember days, weeks, months going by with not a day that wasn’t scheduled with must-dos. We Americans draw pride in all we can accomplish in a day~mindlessly checking off our lists as if we are making a difference. We eat in our cars as we drive our kids back and forth to activities. Pass our spouse on the way to and from with a quick hello, and now something else must be done. How often do we find our kids talking to us, where we hear what they are saying but maybe not hear the importance in which they are saying it.?
How present are we in our lives?
I spent many years bragging and playing the game of all I had done that week and yet wishing life was not this way. I loved watching my daughter play basketball, but did it have to be year long? Summers were taken up with summer school so my kids could be in the school music programs. Worry made me hope that something would come along that would change the way of life for the next generation. So that they could experience a calmer, more simple, and more in the moment way of life.
I know many young moms who are working, taking care of their families ~ doing it all! What about us personally? When was the last time you did something for yourself that was just for you and that brought you joy? A lot of people can not even name what brings them joy because they have become too busy doing the next thing ~ working to afford the next thing. What if we all spent some of the next few weeks recognizing all the little things around us? Maybe we would realize that our self worth is not wrapped up in what we do or what we own. It is who we are and how we give our ourselves.
Look for the good
So, maybe the coronavirus is terrible in many ways, but that does not mean something good cannot come from it. Maybe this is our chance to see what we have been missing. Time with our families to be together without having to rush off. Time to make all those recipes you save on Pinterest, to play a game, take a walk, or do yoga with your daughter.
God gives us this one life. There will be ups and downs. If we take time to stop and remember, some days ~ the task today is not to do anything! But to simply recognize how much we already have in our lives, maybe I will get my wish for the next generation.