It is coming at us from all sides: "More and more people with a positive test for COVID-19. Several more have died. We are in danger of closing the country. The government has announced new measures. The economy is declining worldwide. People are losing their jobs.” Every day we face this or similar news. They are flooding our world. They could evoke in us resentment, restlessness, fear and more.
However, we would like to change your view on the other side of this equation. We have good news for you. Despite all the circumstances that we are facing today. The time we are living now can serve for our good. Yes! We can already see how you are shaken in your foundation. How can something good come out of this whole situation? Simply. Your example. The way you behave yourself now. We are convinced that even at this time, in the wave of the pandemic, we can be harbor of hope and light for the people around us. Shine light into the darkness of today’s experience. In this blog, we would like to write how to survive this time and at the same time be a harbor of hope and light for others. We will summarize it in a few practical points. Are you ready? We are. Let's do it!
1. Distance yourself from negative news
We'll start with a simple sentence: "You become what you feed yourself." How much time during the day do you spend watching news and videos, reading articles, watching Facebook posts about Covid-19? Hands on your heart. Most of these reports are negative. The problem arises if you feed on these messages all day every day. You probably won't be in a positive mood. They just make you more disappointed and more. Have you noticed how negative emotions are easily transferable? Just read a few comments on Facebook. That is why we invite you to take responsibility for what you are feeding yourself with. Please, we do not mean that you must now completely stop watching the news and cut off contact with the outside world. We do not live in the Stone Age. For example, we will only look at the latest Covid-19 statistics on a daily basis and check the current government measures. That is all. We have notifications turned off on social networks. Simply put, we only look at what we want and need, when we want and need. We will not allow negative news to come to us without control as they wish.
2. Pray
Remembering, prayer is key at any time. Personally, we think we have never had more time to pray than we do now. We are at home. An excellent opportunity to be in the chamber with God. We invite you to spend time with God instead of reading the news. Let yourself be filled with the living water from His spring. At the same time, it is an opportunity to present to Him your worries, fears, struggles, and more at His feet. Please enter into a deeper relationship with Him. Ask Him how you can give yourself to people around you. Ask Him to change the angle of your gaze. You will not become a harbor of hope and light on your own. It requires strength from the above. The Father of lights will light his light in you so that you yourself can become His light of the world.
3. Help people around you
A negatively focused person tends to express sentences beginning with the word "I can't do this and that. I have to do this and that." Let's try to shift attention to the second bowl on scales. At this time, we have a chance to show more solidarity. We invite you to leave the shell of the comfort zone, self-pity. You will see that there are many opportunities around you to be a harbor of hope and light. You can start with small things, such as helping to carry a shopping bags for an elderly, asking a roommate if he or she needs to buy something, holding the door to a person who has their hands full, helping grandma go through the transition, buy a friend a cake and just bring it to her / his home, make a gift and please your loved one. When you open your eyes, you will see a lot of opportunities to help and contribute.
4. Stay in touch with loved ones
It is very difficult to live without our loved ones. This is also our case. Our families are far away. However, this does not prevent us from being in contact with them. We always take the time to connect with them. We support them. We listen them and provide emotional healing. Please be proactive, pick up your phone, call them and ask a simple question: "How are you?"
5. Be thankful for everything that has been given to you
This point is quite simple. Showing gratitude to others is like watering a flower that grows. Instead of focusing on what you are missing now (going to the movies, fitness, restaurants, and more ...), focus on thanksgiving for the things you have. Lenka writes on paper 5 things for which she is grateful for in the categories (people, things, experiences). At the end of the week, this list is quite long. We invite you to try the same. You will see for yourself that not everything is as bad as it seems. We have many opportunities to be thankful. Just start noticing them.
6. Be active
Any exercise releases endorphin (a hormone of happiness) in the body. You can exercise even though your favorite place or gym might be closed. You can joggle outside, go for a walk, get a 20-minute workout at home (instructional videos are up to the internet), play music and dance. There are no limits to creativity. We invite you to unleash all negative emotions not in the field of comments on Facebook, but in the field of physical movement.
7. Spread hope, peace, light and love around us
"Lenka, how is it possible that you are so positive despite what is happening around us now," an acquaintance once asked me. The answer is simple: I decided to do so. I have consciously chosen the path of support and encouragement. I focus on the positivism. I want others who talk to me to experience hope, peace, light and love. Just by showing understanding, acknowledgement, smiling, saying a word of encouragement, listening to a person, showing empathy, ... God wants us to be the light of the world, and this is the way to be.
Finally, let us tell you that we are not heroic who will always handle everything perfectly. Due to the current situation, we have not seen our families and each other for many months. We have been locked up in our dwellings. Sometimes the feeling of despair, sadness, pain, fear, restlessness strikes us. However, the important thing is that we will not allow current situation to affect us in our core. We decided to be one of the many harbors of hope and light. We believe that thanks to the time spent with God, we can. It's never too late to start. We invite you to join us in deciding to be a harbor of hope and light for others around us. We believe that together our light will be more brighter to defeat the darkness we face. We bless you!
Lenka & Marek