Wow. WOW! I have never experienced such a roller coaster of emotions and current events and natural disasters and all sorts of craziness in one week. I truly feel like this week has felt like a month. Why? Because just last Friday things were completely, COMPLETELY different.
Last Friday I was teaching yoga at the yoga studio. Last Friday was, pretty much another Friday. Don't get me wrong people had started to freak out and the stores were well out of hand sanitizer and toilet paper, but not everybody was on board the social distance train yet.
But ya know, then public schools got closed. Restaurants and shops started to close. Events were closing down. DISNEY WORLD CLOSED. My friends doing internships with Disney actually got sent home. Then my job at a wedding reception venue, told me that they canceled all events until April 30th. Then the family I nanny for said to not come, at least for now.
I definitely do not have it the worst, and I also definitely have high spirits. Because though this is very sad and serious, the effect of the drastic routine change it has caused on the entire world I think has extraordinarily amazing benefits. I've always been a proponent of "breaking the routine". That's why I always travel over anything. That's why I love going to women's events and motivational inspirational getaways. Because I like anything that makes humans live a little less like a robot, a and a little more consciously from the soul.
But nobody really has answers, nobody knows what to do. Because the truth is,
THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.
So it's not like anyone, any government official, adult, or church leader can provide any promises of anything.
No one can tell the full time waiter when he can return to work. No one can promise the restaurant owner if they'll be able to open again. No one can tell the actress when they are going to start auditioning for movies again. Nobody can tell the movie theatre's when they are safe to open. No one can tell the stay at home mother how the heck she is supposed to home school 5 kids.
And so that is what makes some of this crazy. But what I really believe, is that people who have never spent much time with them self alone, in silence. Wether in a formal or informal meditation, I think they are going to start to discover stuff. The type of work many healers, coaches, and light workers have been doing already. All of the self inquiry journaling I do almost every day. All of the shadow work. All of the mirror work. Maybe it's just me, because I personally can't even sit still during a 30 minute TV episode, but people are going to be disturbed.
The Way I See It
The way I see it, is basically the way I always see life. But even for me it's an extra kick in the pants. That is to SEIZE THE DAY. My motto and message always has been to make the ordinary extraordinary. Or not way for the extraordinary external permission to do something extra ordinary. Why do you need a holiday? For example, two years ago on April 14th 2018 I was thinking about how I would just LOVE someone to surprise me on my half birthday (April 15th) and celebrate. But I knew that wasn't going to happen. I knew my family couldn't read my mind. So I decided to show up for myself. I went to the store and got a bouquet of flowers, Dark Chocolate Acaii Brookside bites, and wrote myself a little card. I set it up on the counter that night, so then I woke up on my half birthday to a beautiful site.
It's the simple things.
Because to me, that brought me delight. And we don't need to wait for anyone else, or for a day on the calendar, or for permission to share your light, to let yourself be filled with light, or to receive light.
HOME SPA DAY
So in the midst of this quarentine fiasco, for some reason it has brought out that aspect in me a little more. Yesterday morning I lit 5 candles and placed them in front of my yoga mat in my living room. I have been committing to doing yoga in my living room every morning just to make sure I start off the day grounded. Then I made oatmeal, and I added cinnamon, peanut butter, vanilla collagen powder, and mixed it up. Topped it with sunflower seeds, strawberries, banana, almond slices, and unsweetened coconut flakes. I normally just kind of top it on there, but I was taking my time and being slower. I was actually decorating it. I thought "what if I decorated this like I would get at a tropical cafe? Since I won't be going to a cafe anytime soon lol!". And then as I was looking at my beautiful bowl, I thought "Why don't I make this a retreat day!" Then I declared it QUARENTINE HOME SPA NIGHT
I put on Instagram and Facebook for everyone to do face masks and stuff and share it. So later that night I went to Whole Foods and bough some flowers. (Way out of my norm). Bought a face mask and a cucumber. Came home, filled up the bath tub and started cutting the flowers off the stems, and putting them in the tub! I was getting happier and happier with each flower that landed in the water. Why didn't I ever do this before! It was exactly the type of thing you'd see on a retreat in Costa Rica or Bali, in fact I did see this type of stuff in Bali. In Bali, there are flowers in everything!
I turned on Hawaii Beach Music on my laptop, lit some candles, cut the cucumbers and some strawberries and put them in a drink. I was going to my closet to get my robe, then I saw my swimsuit rap with pink flowers on it. YES!! If I was going to do this why not full send it am I right? So I put on my swim suit wrap and then I was TOTALLY VIBING. I was also laughing so hard with delight at the atmosphere I just created, by myself no less, but in total joy. Truly delighted with myself. I had the ocean waves and tropical background music playing, put on my face mask, got my cucumbers on my eyes and it was amazing.
SO WHAT
This is the type of thing I am talking about when I say breaking the routine. I preach and try to live by saying we have the power to do stuff like this every day, before all this lockdown stuff. Now if I would have done this before all the lockdown stuff, that wouldn't have surprised me. I have done similar stuff, just not to the full extent.
But that's my point... why don't we go full out? Cause we are always waiting huh. When we are planning parties and there is a cool idea, we always say it's too much effort for THIS TIME. Well folks what if this time is the only time?
I just feel like it's hard to plan and set goals and what not in my industry because so much is determined on other people and performing. And also my coaching business, mainly geared around helping people remember who they truly are so they can finally start designing and living the life of their heart's desire, ...it's just that this week, everyone's life is kind of in a pot hole more or less. But that's okay, because I am here waiting for you.
I see you. And your heart's dream is not for nothing. If you had a show get cancled, or lost a job, or feel you have lost hope. Stick up your chin, and grin. Look in the mirror and tell yourself thank you for all you do. Decide to make decisions from the person you want to be. Remember that you can become what you envision.
Love and Light! Peace and blessings
Annie Cowden
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