Silver Linings - Quarantine 2020

My calendar informed me that today was supposed to be the first day of my retreat in Mexico called “Relax & Renew”. After that I was supposed to fly to Italy for 7 weeks to live in Tuscany for a month, then lead a retreat in Umbria, then head south to wander around Rome for a while. This was my dream trip that I’ve been looking forward to for a long, long, time.

Was I “supposed” to go?

Apparently not - the Universe, God (or whomever you believe in) had other plans for me. It’s hard to put things into perspective when life gets challenging and overwhelming. While we can’t always control our physical experience or the things that are happening in the world, we can always control how we react to them.

Was I upset when I had to postpone these retreats and my dream trip? Yes absolutely, not only was I immensely looking forward to it, I was also losing future income. So, I allowed myself time and space to process everything until I eventually moved into acceptance. Acceptance is beautiful because in acceptance there is more clarity and with clarity comes greater perspective. With perspective, I was able to see the bigger picture and reframed my experience into what was truly happening.

The truth is these past 6 weeks I’ve had an opportunity to slow down and be in one place for a while, and connect with myself on a deeper level, and connect with family and friends on a deeper level. I allowed myself more time to do some inner work I was avoiding by traveling so much. I’ve also had an opportunity to look at my business through a new lens and make some decisions that will shift it in new directions I didn’t see before because I was moving around so much. I am exploring all of this with some trepidation and excitement.

Someday when the world starts moving again, I will be wiser and stronger for having this experience. So, in an ass backwards way, I say “Thank You, Quarantine.”

This is my silver lining.

What is your silver lining?