Words Have Power

It is my honour and privilege to write to you today. Freedom of speech, in itself, is a privilege. I could use this time to work, edit my book, play with my kids, or numerous other activities in my house, but I choose to be with you this morning to deliver you a message. It is not a message of fear, but of love. Because that’s what our world needs more of right now. Love.

What I realized in the writing process of my book, is that I have a huge responsibility with the words I write and use on the daily. I can better the world with my words, my actions, and my kindness. And that’s what I’m doing with the words you’re about to read.

Now, it’s no secret to some of you who have read my past blogs that I see, hear and sense signs from the other side. I have sensed Spirit in many ways over the last fifteen years or so. I know, without a doubt, that there is life beyond this human suit we wear. Rewind a few months ago, and if you ask my husband, he’ll tell you I’d been saying change was on the horizon. I had been seeing “555” and “911” number sequences in spades, every where. When I looked up the meaning, it meant change and new beginnings, an ending of something. (BTW – “911” in the spirit world is a good change, not necessarily associated with bad.)

I assumed those numbers were about me, about my book, about growing and evolving, as I’ve been doing rapidly over the last year. But could it had been about our planet, our world, our country, and right down to us as individuals? Could it have been foreshadowing what is happening right now? Were my spirit guides trying to prepare me for what was to come? Perhaps.

Interestingly enough, this past week, I’ve been seeing the number sequences of “333”, “444”, “11:11”, everywhere. I’ve been running into feathers on my daily walks. You might ask what those mean? In my lexicon of spirit signs, it’s love. It means that my angels and guides are with me, every step of the way. It means that we are not alone in what’s happening and are always being guided by a higher source. So, because I knew that, I chose to leave last week and start this new week with a new sense of faith, just as you should. What is happening now, has purpose and meaning, beyond what our “human suits” can rationalize. Perhaps Mother Earth just needed a timeout from our reckless behavior, I don’t know.

Now that I have your attention, or perhaps you’ve left the conversation, I’ll let you know another secret. I’m not immune to the fear and anxiety that you are feeling right now. Last week, I had to close off my video conference monitor so that I could cry without my colleagues seeing. I’m overwhelmed with trying to single parent while my husband still fortunately is able to go to work to help us pay for bills. I’m trying to single parent while I still fortunately have a job to go to. We are beyond grateful to still have jobs to go to at this point, some of our friends and family are not in the same boat. And every day changes. The unknowns are scary. Being self-employed, such as our company, is scary. Becoming my son’s teacher right now, is scary. Being an emotional rock for my kids, is hard. Losing my support system-daycare, school, grandmas-to do this all, is hard.

But here’s what I did after closing off my video conference last week. I finished work as best as I could, and then I had a drink that evening. I let all of the bad things in, and I felt all of my fears and anxieties. I allowed myself to feel the fear of all of the unknowns and then I went to bed. I played a mediation and I woke up the next morning, ready to take life by the horns. I woke up with new perspective. I decided to honour my blessings. Living in Canada, we are extremely privileged. We have a government ready to stand by us, help us with our mortgages. We have running water, shelter and available food. Some people around the world right now are not as lucky. We have larger body trying to pull together so that we still have something left of an economy when this ends, and it will.

I started doing my part. I decided to stay home for the safety of all. We are all in this together. The extras in life can wait. I started cancelling dental appointments, eye-care appointments, and SaskTel appointments (hello…more privileges…dental care, eye-care, technology. Some countries are not so fortunate, ever.) I went to school for Economics and the Prisoner’s Dilemma of Game Theory came to mind. I will not provide a graph to bore you, but in economics, game theory is the study of interaction between different participants in the market. It shows you when two completely rational individuals might not cooperate for their own self, even if it appears that it is in their best interest to do so. Think of two prisoners, who can not communicate and have to be questioned for a crime they both committed.

Here are the classic scenarios:

1) They can betray each other, and each serve two years of prison.

2) If A betrays B, but B remains silent, A will be free and B will serve three years in prison (and vice versa).

3) If A and B both remain silent, both of them will serve only one year in prison.

It’s an example of where cooperation amongst markets, or humans in our case, helps. You might ask what this has to do with you? It means we need to cooperate to get out of this situation safer. Everyone needs to stay at home right now and social distance, if you can (not including jobs and essential services right now). Everyone needs to choose Option 3 above-cooperation.

We have to honour that this is the first global pandemic since 1918. This is real, and is not a drill. This is a challenge for all of us. We need to work together, we need to cooperate, for the safety of humankind right now. Flattening the curve is our hope for all of humanity.

I decided to use this time to reflect. Inner peace can be found through the balancing of the Self. It can be found in prayer and in understanding your role in the whole of Creation. World peace begins in the heart of each of us. I had the opportunity to visit the house of Anne Frank about eleven years ago. My husband and I stood in line for nearly an hour to be able to step into the historic site. I climbed the ladder that Anne and her family climbed into an attic to stay in for nearly two years. I saw the bookshelf that covered the steps. I gazed out the window she did. I saw her diary on display in that house. And I cried. I felt an immediate appreciation for the freedoms I had in that moment. I had the freedom to travel, to walk outside, to eat an abundance of food, to talk without having to worry about being heard.

Let me repeat, this situation is not ideal for any of us. But it could be worse, much worse. We have so many resources at our fingertips. We have technology. We have Amazon to order goods right now. We have a postal service that is still open. We have open communication via FaceTime. We have school packages to help teach our children with. Start using the resources we have.

Set your tone, flex and bend to figure out new ways of doing things. I know it isn’t easy. I had to learn how to mobile upload deposits last week, while my kids were screaming in the background. I had to learn how to FaceTime for a piano lesson. I was sweating in both cases. I had to flex and step back when I wanted to yell at my kids for being rowdy. It’s not their fault, and we have to learn how to carry this emotional rollercoaster for them right now. My oldest son is angry he can’t play with his friends, go to school, or just play. He doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to deal with all of this right now. But I do. Set your tone, be the emotional rock your kids need right now, and try to cry in the closest if you have to. Better starts with you, you are the foundation, the heart, of your family.

Set up a routine. I’ve been doing this home office seclusion thing for a while, so take it from me, routine helps. Make your bed in the morning, wash your face, put on a bra (if you are a man, you could try that advice, let me know how it goes), put on makeup (if that’s your thing, and if you are a man, take a picture and send it to me for a laugh). Do everything you would normally do. Take breaks from your computer. Go outside. I repeat, go outside. Nature has healing affects.

Take this time to slow down. Take this time to learn. Take this time to do what you love, indoor style. Take this time to spread kindness. Help to teach your six year-old to tie his shoes (on my to-do list), create art (ahhhhh, the power of art alone…), play games. Prepare a meal and sit together as a family, institute no phone time at meals. Scrapbook. Catch up on Netflix (my son and I are currently streaming The Office). I highly advise not watching something sappy right now. We watched Hachi last week, a movie where both the owner and the dog dies, and both my son and I were ugly crying. Try to watch something uplifting instead…

And don’t forget about yourself, mamma bear. I write about the classic air mask situation in my book. Lucky you, this excerpt is an extraction from my manuscript, just for you:

In order to lift off and pull away from our earth’s gravitational force, you must listen to a short set of safety demonstrations by airline attendants, who kindly remind you that if an issue arises—you know, like debris striking a jet engine or an internal system component failure—the oxygen masks will immediately release from the ceiling cabinet for your safety.

The flight attendant demonstrates the correct way to tighten the air mask straps across your face and insists you must put on your own breathing mask first—even before assisting small children

That selfish act of helping yourself first is actually how you have the ability to help others next. You’re not much help unconscious on the floor, now are you?

Take a bath, drink some wine, write, journal, meditate, knit, run. I don’t care, but make sure you are taking care of yourself during this time. Do you first.

But most importantly, have faith. Now, more than ever, with church doors closing, it’s a time to realize the church has never been about the building. I went to an event last year with Irving Roth speaking, a man who was death camp survivor. He survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald and emigrated to the United States in 1947. He is now in his nineties and speaks about his experience. What he said to the audience, changed me, like all good speeches have the power to do. When he and his brother were on one of the last death marches, he told his brother he couldn’t go on–It was too hard. He was too hungry. His brother looked at him and said, “You’re being too physical, you need to be more spiritual.” Irving continued the march, and he chose the latter. His brother didn’t make it, but he did. He chose survival in his life when the war ended. He chose not to be bitter. He chose to tell his story, to teach you and I perspective.

Now, my friend, we are coming to the end of my message (if you haven’t already left). What I’ve tried to do is give you hope, perspective, and faith that this will all come to an end. I’ve tried to let you know that we have a beautiful community of human beings living on this tiny planet called Earth, that we all need your help, today. So stay home, look out for one another, and keep your chin up. This isn’t the first pandemic, and will not be the last. My friend, take care out there. And remember to Stay Calm and Carry On, indoor style…

Until next time,

S.