Jenny Toh 4/16/20 Jenny Toh 4/16/20

Surprised?

What’s going through your mind as you read the heading? Are you surprised by all that is going on in your life and in the world today? Are you feeling anxious, upset, angry, fearful, helpless or all of them at varying times throughout a single day? I have been feeling all those emotions and more over the past few months in light of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping our world today. I feel helpless at times when I think about the things that are not within my control. That’s just it. They are things that I cannot control. Why am I then allowing these things to take all my energy away from me? The simple answer is that I am human and feeling all these emotions is perfectly normal.

“Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.” - Emma Smith, English author

I love this photo. At the far end of it, you see the gentle flow of the river and at the edge of the photo closest to us, you start to see that the flow of the river is stronger and fiercer. You can almost hear the sound of it gushing towards possibly a waterfall further along the river.

Life’s like that, isn’t it? We have all experienced the gentle calmness and quiet contentment in our lives when all of a sudden, an event happens that shakes the tranquil flow in our lives.

So, what can we do to regain balance? How can we centre ourselves and not feel topsy-turvy in light of these events that are beyond our control? No one is expecting you to deny or suppress your feelings and put on a strong brave front. In times like these, we should think about putting on the type of spectacles that will work for us. The spectacles that will give us the right perspectives to view the current situation. The lenses of compassion, both in terms of self compassion and compassion for others. The glasses for seeking meaningful connections and strengthening existing relationships.

“The way we see things, the way we see the world and everything in it, determines everything else that happens.” - Todd Davis, Chief People Officer, Franklin Covey Co.

If you are feeling at a lost in terms of handling these emotions and want to work towards having the right lenses to view the state of things in the world today, I would be more than happy to support you in your quest for finding clarity and peace. If you want to formulate goals around the effective use of your time at home, please contact me now so that you do not let this opportunity slip past you! We all have it within ourselves to make this difficult time, a learning and growing experience for ourselves and for our family, friends and circles of influence! Let’s get started!