Centering Yourself Before the Next Wave

As we now know, Coronavirus has continued to take hundreds of innocent lives everyday, which will only increase as we head into the new wave. Before we were first hit, we had no prior knowledge of what this would be like. Sadly, we’re now pros at this. We never should’ve had to adapt in this way. It should’ve been dealt with. Now we need to prepare ourselves for the next few months inside.

One way I’ve been getting ready, is implementing two daily meditations: one in the morning and one at night. Sometimes when I’m having a particularly stressful day, I’ll take a walk and play a meditation through my headphones. By starting to incorporate these into my everyday life now, it won’t be as stark of a change when things get bleak in the coming months. It’ll just be a routine that I can rely on.

Another is taking a bit of time once a week to do something I really enjoy. Some days I don’t have time to watch TV or movies. But at some point in the week, I’ll have an hour or so where no one is expecting me to do anything. I’ll take my Apple Watch off, put my phone in another room, and play some music while I bake or cook. It’s just a moment where I can satisfy my own wants and needs as opposed to anyone else’s.

Lastly, I’ve been reading at least a chapter of a book everyday. Whether it’s before bed, or when I get a slight break during work, I skim a bit of a book to take my mind off of everything else going on. It lets me escape for awhile and take a break from staring at a screen.

It’s so important, now more than ever, to find a few minutes during your day for yourself. Fighting injustices and educating ourselves should drive us every single day, but don’t feel guilty for allowing yourself some time for self-reflection. You’ll be so much better for it and you more than deserve it. You wake up everyday and work so hard. All of that effort means nothing if it negatively impacts you.