It happened! I was exposed to the Coronavirus, and sent home from work to quarantine. I practiced all the safe protocols of protection, mostly. Yes, I wore my mask except, of course, while having lunch with this particular person. Yes, I stayed my six feet apart except while giving her a hug cause I haven't seen her in four months. Now what? I'm not one to be anxious or fearful, so I gave myself a shot of positive self-talk and thought I’ve got this! However, over the next two days I couldn’t concentrate, was restless, and productivity went out the window even in the small things. It took a couple of days, but finally I realized it; my emotions were out of balance.
I was ruminating about every situation in which I had encountered this person; admonishing myself for not being stricter in protecting myself; focusing on how much time I had to wait to take the test, and what if it was positive! Needless to say, I was a wreck and knew I had to get it together because I was robbing myself of all joy. I took a slow deep breath and thought Mindfulness is what I need.
The key to Mindfulness is learning to focus on the “here and now” and stay in the current moment.
Mindfulness requires letting go of negative and judgmental thoughts which helps to slow down racing thoughts. When done with purpose it can bring a calm to the body, mind and spirit. This was definitely what I needed. Taking that moment to recenter myself helped me to remember and accept that I’m not in control of yesterday or tomorrow, but I am in control of today and what I experience internally. With every moment I was beginning to reclaim my joy.
Blog post written by Wellness Contributor Dawn Rayburn, EDS, NBCT, LPC for Embrace Candles.
Photos by Chait Goli and Tatiana from Pexels
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