Align: Finding a New Life Harmony
Happy Spring!
The weather is changing (if you're in Atlanta like me, it's changing back and forth). The world seems to be open “for real for real” with mask mandates dropping everywhere, and somewhere along the way I feel like I lost myself. Not that I am confused about who or whose I am, but some things I enjoyed doing were deemed not essential or were risky for so long that I haven’t done them in the same way for quite some time and as a result haven’t felt fully like myself. My goal for the indefinite future was to survive, not my usual choice of thriving. But now I am finding my way back to myself. I'm starting to do the things I used to do freely without fear and earlier during the pandemic I discovered new things I enjoy too.
There used to be so much talk about returning to normal, but as my mom says "you can't go back in life." So I don’t wish to go “back to normal”, instead my focus is on finding a new harmony to my life now. Truth is pandemic or not we have to realign our lives from time to time because as Heraclitus stated, “The only constant in life is change.”
My strategy for realignment has three prongs:
Evaluate what parts of your pre-pandemic lifestyle, you want to revive
I’m sure we all have things we stopped doing, did less or did differently due to the pandemic. For me that list includes eating in restaurants, traveling, and attending in person worship services. Each one of these activities helps fill my cup in different ways. I’m doing them all now and more.
Determine what you started doing during the pandemic that you want to keep up.
It took me a while to realize that lots of people took up new hobbies or activities during the pandemic; I did as well. I studied for and earned my real estate license during the pandemic. While I don’t want to sell real estate as my main source of income, I definitely want to invest in real estate more, even in this crazy market. I am thankful for the time I was able to dedicate to something that has been a longstanding interest, and hope that I will continue to find ways to pursue my interest in real estate investment as life begins to move faster.
Do what you love and what amplifies your joy.
Of course, what you want to do may not be from pre-COVID or something you started during the pandemic, however if you love it, do it. If it helps amplify your joy, do it.
What are those things you stopped doing, did less or did differently due to the pandemic? Have you started doing them again? Were there any practices or activities you adopted during the pandemic that you actually found beneficial and want to keep? What do you love to do? What amplifies your joy? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. Wishing you a life in harmony.