It is understandable that we all feel a series of new feelings now. If we had anxiety before, we may have more now. If we had depression before, we may feel more now. Relationships may be strained. Money may be an issue. New stressors are being placed on us.
The negative way to look at this, and of course, there is merit with any attitude, is to descend into hopelessness and the terror of old traumas.
Perhaps a new approach, however, is being asked of us. Can we learn to live more in the moment, even as we plan for tomorrow? Can we learn to touch our heart, and self-soothe? Can we learn how to connect with the scared child-within and reassure that person in ways that will make the heart open? Can we learn to deal with anxiety as an energy system that can be better regulated? Can we reach deep inside ourselves to find emotional and stuck places that are yearning to be touched?
I am just as much a skeptic as anyone, as a Jewish kid raised in the Bronx, to not trust anything but what I see before my eyes. But as a therapist for the last 25-years, I know for a fact that powerful healing energies reside within. With psychological tools we may be able to unlock from their secret and shadowy hiding places long-lost treasures of compassion, healing, hope and love.
The image above is of Tara, a deity worshiped by practitioners of the Tibetan Buddhism to develop certain inner qualities and to understand secret teachings of compassion) and loving-kindness.