Saturday, I went foraging. Not in a forest or along the side of a mountain.
The grocery store. The one I’ve gone to for over twenty years.
There was a new system. One door for exit, one for entry. Orange colored bubbles to stand on, 6 feet apart. Entry only allowed as someone exits. Everyone abiding by the guidelines, organized, quiet, calm.
Inside a much smaller group than would be typical on a Saturday morning. Everyone quiet, making every effort to keep to the new norm of social distancing.
While I could see empty shelves here and there, for the most part a grocery store filled with food.
I gathered the items on my list, thanked the cashier for her efforts on my behalf, and returned home to my quiet apartment where I live alone.
The trip bringing me closer to humanity than I have been in a week.
Tomorrow – the one before us now – is not the tomorrow which cast a shadow a month ago.
The tomorrow of our recent past is gone, replaced by the big unknown.
I realize that the question before me is not “What do I do?”
That’s the question of fear and reaction. The place of inertia and frozen movement.
The question before me, and you, and all of us is much different.
The question is one of choice, of action, of values:
What tomorrow do you want?
Shift. Change. Transformation. Transmutation.
The Unexpected. The Unknown. The Unwilling.
Ascension. Enlightenment. Integration on all levels body, mind, heart, and soul.
No matter the words, the dogma, the explanation, life has reminded us of the vast array of possibility that last month was not part of the tomorrow in most of our minds.
In this moment, the way to deal with this pandemonium breaking the surface both within your heart and in all the hearts on the planet is to ask:
What tomorrow do you want?
Begin with the end in mind to figure out your next step, your next choice – how your life will move into the big unknown of tomorrow.
I’ve asked myself this question every day for the last ten days. I will keep asking, keep inquiring, keep challenging myself to move beyond expectation, worry, and fear.
This question is not necessarily a once-and-done inquiry.
This is a question to repeat to yourself, to your friends and family, and to the people who matter to you.
You keep questioning because tomorrow has always been within the big unknown.
In tomorrow – that’s not where the change has occurred.
No. We have just been complacent and reactive. Deceiving self that yesterday is always a clear predictor of tomorrow.
There’s a way that tomorrow never comes.
But this moment appears because of openness to the unfolding rather than knee-jerk reaction to the unexpected.
The change is to not assume that tomorrow is yesterday.
My awareness opens to WHAT IS now and responds to the truth within.
My choice helps me not be lost in a sea of hysteria.
Now I have a way to understand how to move into my tomorrow.
I pay close attention to the critical voice in my head, wanting to make sure that this voice doesn’t take over and beat me into submission, so I mindlessly choose fear.
To get to tomorrow, keeping the critical voice corralled and away from this voice’s mental whips and emotional barbs is necessary so that life is focused on thoughtful choice, quiet spirit, peaceful heart, and joyful life.
This is tough stuff especially in the face of illness, death, and fear.
However, choice is always available – even if the choice is, I will not react.
In this moment, take stock of where you are – bringing back all the bits that have been flung out in a gasp of desperate protection.
You need all of you in this moment to move from today to tomorrow.
Deep breath. Feel self balanced between heaven and earth.
Close your eyes and see your path extend in front of you.
Know you can find your way.
Here’s an affirmation for you now:
In love, I trust myself to get to my best tomorrow.
Be kind to yourself and know that tomorrow, while vastly different, has a place for us all.
This article is part of the articles I have written on the personal aspects of growth through spiritual practice. To read more like this, check out What is Spiritual Practice?
