Hey there! What you’re about to read is ordinarily something that would remain an exclusive update to my newsletter subscribers, but during these strange times I wanted to open it up to you on my blog so that you can stay apprised of what’s going on for me, and so that my two gestures of offering below can be something that you might benefit from. If you’d like what you see below in your inbox every two weeks, subscribe to Chronicles of a Self-Storied Life here. Thank you.
Dear friend,
Today, I’m on the fourth day of a voluntary 14-day self-quarantine after just having returned home from international travel in the United Kingdom as the COVID-19 outbreak really escalated throughout Europe.
My choice to self-quarantine and socially distance myself from others felt like the only real, rational, and responsible decision to make, despite being asymptomatic. After all, I have spent the last two weeks on planes, trains, subways, busses and taxis — and, in stadiums full of between 16,000 and 70,000 people — while this pandemic has consumed much of the world’s attention and anxieties.
In case I have contracted the virus, I want to do everything I can to prevent spreading it, further straining our healthcare system, or contributing to any vulnerable persons’ unnecessary illness or premature death.
Because I work from home — and, find myself joking these days that “most of my life has been a form of voluntary self-quarantine” — I find myself this week feeling like I’m in a strange limbo of total normalcy and total abnormalcy, because in just the last couple of weeks the whole world has begun to feel quite different.
Nevertheless, I’m feeling good and positive, and trying to treat this time as a personal retreat and an opportunity to reflect, contemplate, journal, and think about what truly matters.
I thought I would write to you today to make a similar gesture, especially if you find yourself in a similar position of being stuck at home or in an anxious waiting game during this particularly stressful time.
Here’s what I have for you:
- One, some thoughts on what’s happening right now, which I hope you’ll find to be a reassuring perspective on the nature of what we’re seeing unfold in our world, and,
- Two, a full replay of my recent webinar, broken down into manageable parts, which I hope you may find to be a wonderfully distracting source of self-reflective content
First, on this crisis
The most reassuring thought that I’ve had when reflecting upon what’s been happening these days is:
This is what happens when the entire world has to learn how to do something together, for the first time, all at once.
Everybody is doing their best right now. We’re all learning this for the very first time. And, we’re learning it globally, in real-time.
If you’re personally feeling really down, critical, disheartened or dismayed, I want to encourage you to stay as positive as you can. Remember that, sometimes, this is just what has to happen when we’re all collectively learning how to do something together, especially for the first time.
There’s {what I believe to be} a Buddhist proverb that says, “In 100 years, all new people.” As simple as the idea is — that, every 100 or so years, everyone who has been alive will no longer be alive — there’s a profound and humbling reminder wrapped up in that proverb:
Everyone is trying to find their way.
We don’t have all the time in the world to do it.
We can only do our best with what time we’re given.
I used to live under this illusion that civilization marched forward always, advancing and progressing and getting “better and better” over time; that there would be no backslides, missteps, regressions, failures. Maybe that was youthful naïveté or entitled ignorance.
Today, I have a different perspective. I understand that every individual person — and, collectively, together, the whole world as we know it — is comprised of people with 100 years or less to try to do their best in this lifetime. This is a great equalizer, despite any or all of our differences.
As we all effort to do our best during this global-reaching crisis, stay patient and as understanding as possible given that we’re all trying our best to figure it out, for the first time, together. We’re all still finding our way.
Next, some content you may enjoy!
The free webinar that I taught a couple of weeks ago, called How to Predict (and Prevent) Potential Pitfalls, Stumbling Blocks and Setbacks in 2020 (And Beyond), is now available for replay at DaveUrsillo.com/Webinar.
For your convenience of viewing, I spliced the 90+ minute exploration of how our personal shadows are tied to our personal development potential into manageable chunks.
You can download a PDF of full slide deck presentation, too, so that you can read along in real-time while watching or listening to the video in the background.
Click here to start watching or to bookmark the page for later viewing.
I hope this webinar replay is something that you might explore during the weeks ahead, in particular as a reprieve or escape from the heightened states of anxiety and stress in which we all find ourselves right now.
I know that this is a particularly challenging time for many, not only because of the health factors in play but because of the economic and financial burdens quickly following.
At the very least, my hope is that this offering is an opportunity to tune into yourself and your inner world, and to let the outer world play out on its own for at least an hour and a half.
Otherwise, if there’s anything that I might be able to do to support you from afar during this strange and anxious time, please reply and let me know. Email me. Reach out. Ask. I might not have answers or solutions, but I will do what I can to try to support you.
(I’ve already made one small gesture to teachers who are stuck having to educate students remotely during this quarantine period, if that is at all helpful!)
Until we speak again, I wish you and yours health, wellness, grace, ease, and as much peace of mind as is possible during this strange time,
