Covid-19 Is a Call for Renewal
In this time of uncertainty are you fretting about what may come next, financial calamity or worse, or are you regretting choices you've made in the past which brought you to where you are now?
If you are fretting or regretting, you are missing the opportunity.
This very moment - now - is a gift. We've been given the privilege and the opportunity to explore and experience, learn and grow, create and contribute. We have now been given the gift of making a monumental choice.
What are you making of your gift?
Now is always an opportunity; an opportunity to become a better version of ourselves, or an opportunity to resist. "Resist what?" you might ask. Resist life cajoling us to become all we are meant to be.
Speaking for myself, I can only imagine my angels are a frustrated bunch. They have been standing by my side, guiding and guarding me, and holding me aloft in times of trouble, and yet still, after fifty-plus years I fail to heed their quiet and persistent call - guidance offering me peace and love and joy. Instead, I resist. Can't do that; that would make me look the fool. Can't do that; that would take too much effort. Can't do that; that is beneath me. Can't do that; and a million and one other excuses. There's always tomorrow...
Until there isn't.
I usually think in terms of a lifetime. Yes I have this moment, but what I'm really looking forward to and waiting for is that fantastical moment in the hopefully not too distant future when all the stars align, all the ducks are in a row, and I finally arrive to my glory. Thinking of this perfection fantasy; it seems more like a description of my final passing then of some likely reality. Perfect is what life is; not what I'm waiting for. The challenge of living is not changing life; the challenge I took on and am immersed in is changing me. I must learn to live in, love and embrace the opportunity in each moment.
So, what should I do now, in this moment?
Covid-19 is a message so powerful and so pervasive - for me and for the world - it seems impossible to ignore.
My angels are once again watching and wondering, hoping and praying: 'Is he listening? Is he going to see the opportunity? And is he going to make the right choice?'
I have an opportunity before me, and so do you. In every moment the opportunity is to choose: to set my state - my emotional state - determine my course and act.
Covid-19 is upending lives all around the world and for what purpose?
It's a call for us to reconsider our priorities and determine what really matters. It's an opportunity for me and you, and perhaps ultimately all of us to change direction. Covid-19 is a call for a substantial course correction; a great reset. Are we going to heed the call?
Making a prediction is really difficult, especially about the future, but I'm going to speculate: the future we experience as individuals, families, communities and nations will depend on the choices we make here and now - in this moment.
Change is hard and sometimes painful. But change can also be beautiful and joyful and magnificent. Are we going to resist and shrink from the health, financial and economic challenges before us or are we going to embrace this opportunity to usher in a new and better experience?
People are dying because of Covid-19. The world economy is at risk of imploding. People are huddled in their homes. Many are fearful and afraid. But Covid-19 is not an emissary of destruction; it's a call to renewal. The Covid-19 crisis is a plea for us to replace the "every-man-for-himself" philosophy dominating society with a mutually connected, interdependent and supportive culture. Covid-19 is a call for us to unite.
Will we heed the call?
Now is an opportunity for the great reset - a reset of the world. That sounds like a daunting task. It is. So remember this:
"If I change myself the world changes. The great reset - in this moment of crisis - starts with me."
Scott F. Paradis, Leader, Thought-Provoking Writer, Inspiring Speaker, author of "Sheep, Herders, Wolves - Why We Are Where We Are: A Modern American Fable" and "Explosive Leadership - The Ultimate Leader Training Experience" focuses on the fundamentals of leadership and success. Scott@c-achieve.com https://ScottFParadis.com
