Choose Your New Normal
“Oh, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world that has such people in it!”
William Shakespeare
This week we see a lot of people begin to return to work and school, and to something like their ‘normal’ days before the lockdown. It is worth spending a minute or two thinking about what the new ‘normal’ actually looks like. And are we happy with what we are seeing? Is it what we would have chosen to create?
Today, we all have a new canvas on which to draw and create our new ‘normal’. Let us take our time and breathe deeply as we pick up the brushes and start to paint! Are we happy in our ‘brave new world’? If not, it is not too late to change things.
We must ask ourselves are we happy with the world that we have created for our children? We must become very mindful of the legacy that we are leaving behind. A world where masks; gloves; social distancing; 2 meters distance; hand sanitizers; social isolation; lockdown and the virus of fear and suspicion become ‘normal’. Is this truly what we want? We are social beings, when we experience isolation and loneliness we do not fare well. Let us not forget that we are all connected.
No man is an island,
entire to itself;
everyman is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind;
and therefore never send to know for who the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee.
John Donne
These past few months must surely have given people time to reflect on what was, is, and will be… the new ‘normal’. Actually, it begs the question: How much was the past really ‘normal’ at all?
Nature has had to step in and asked us to take a good look at ourselves? Would we have listened to anyone else giving us such a big piece of advice? If we see it as an opportunity to re-think what is really important in life, then we will see it as a good thing. If we just want to get back to our old routines, not established by us in any thoughtful way really, then we will be meeting a lot of resistance to the new ‘normal’ simply because the old way of life has been radically altered.
No, I don’t think we were listening at all before to Nature, we were not taking care of our world, our beloved home. Our waters were getting polluted, our skies were getting blacker and smog filled, our society was becoming senseless and corrupt, our values were becoming empty and depleted… but we could not hear. It needed a big dong to wake us up. But for how long are we going to stay awake? Indeed are we awake or still sleeping in a false comfort and fake reality?
So, now that we are hopefully awake…. And we have realized how precious life is, how lovely it feels to go out freely; to go work; to chat to our neighbour and friends; to ‘see’ and interact with people; and to ‘be’ of purpose; to have a meaningful life; and to ‘be’ of service to others… Now that we have rested the body from its fatigue… Now that we have slowed down… Now we can think clearly and plan out the next steps… What are we going to do?
Every mechanism, system, machine, animal, gadget etc., needs a time to rest and recuperate, that includes our body and our mind. This “resting” stage is the recharging stage. We have been given this time to rest the mind and body. Do we feel recharged? Or is the monkey mind still missing out on the action and wanting to just jump back into more doing?
As we start to return back to what we were doing, let us take our time to think about how we wish to proceed in our new ‘normal’ world. These are some thoughts to consider and to help us as we face our “brave new world”.
Breathe deeply
Make mindful choices
Show compassion to those around us
Choose purposeful living
Engage more consciously
Save up for that rainy day
Shape our attitude
Show our gratitude
Live from the heart
Pray and meditate more
Hope more
Love more
‘Be’ more
Let us choose what our “brave new world” will look like. We must be co-creators in this future because we are going to have to live there… whether we like it or not… So, let us create a world of resonance, not dissonance. Yes, the technology has helped us during this time, but Facetime, Facebook, Zoom or whatever else are no substitute for human contact and connection.
Loving people live in a loving world.
Hostile people live in a hostile world.
Same world.
Wayne Dyer
It’s Time… to create a world of love, compassion and connection… let us work together to make that the new normal.
© ‘It’s Time…’ by Aruna Ladva, BK Publications London, UK
Another beautiful article . Let’s create a better world together with a new “normal” that tells us to live with freedom ,harmony and peace .
Om Shanti Rohitji