I am writing this post in the midst of the pandemic, that has hit the people around the world so dramatically. So many of us need to find ourselves in the new reality of lockdowns, stay - home orders and social distancing. People in western cultures need to learn wearing masks of any kind is helpful or even life-saving behavior and it does not belong solely to the eastern world. We also need to face our deep fears, problems, approaches to life and this is the right time to do so.
We are being bombarded by the news about coronavirus cases, the number of deaths, but also by the news about re-opening the economy, returning to normality, and the new way of life in the future. Some people believe the post-pandemic world will be better, some say nothing will change as there were so many turning points in human history that did not change anything. I am somewhere in between. If there are enough people who want to change something for better, it may happen, but I do not believe everybody will suddenly forget greed, intolerance, racism, sexism to name the few.
I believe, though, this global stay-home order is the right time to find some changes in us and our approach to life because any change should start from ourselves.
Those who read this blog know I am a strong advocate of mindfulness, minimalism, slow life, financial independence. For me, all of them are connected with one factor - intentional life. For me, the post-pandemic world could change if many of us find just that.
Intention and mindfulness: being here and now means living intentionally, being fully committed to what we are doing, whom with, why, etc. When we start living intentionally we will see not only the other person but ourselves, we will respect both more. When we speak to somebody, we will be speaking to the fullest, not chacking our phones, for example. When playing, we will be playing, not drifting our thoughts to, say, work issues, so on and so forth.
Intention and minimalism: During the stay-put, we aren't using many things we own, either it is a piece of clothes, fancy handbag or any other pricy gadget we really had to buy before. Maybe this time is perfect to teach us to focus more, with intention, what we really need to possess. Do we really need to have 150 pairs of shoes ( yes, I know such people), especially when according to some studies we use not more than 30% of items we have. Do we need to have any modern gadget they advertise? Just remember, having more stuff does not make you happy. You buy 1 thing in one month and the next month this very thing is an oldie and the shopping spree begins again.
Intention and slow life: Some people are proud of being multitasking gurus, but is it the right thing to be proud of? Maybe this time is a good one to reevaluate what is really important in life. Working From Home- WFH- is quite a good example of it. Suddenly it appears we do not need to run like crazy to do a lot of things. When we live a bit slower and with the intention, we can choose what to do and when to do, fast or slowly. It is said that when, say, employees are given more freedom, they are happier and work more efficiently. I do believe it will have positive results in our daily, private life, too.
Intention and financial independence: The current situation reminds us there are no "lesser jobs", each job is important, without them our life ecosystem may collapse easily. So, is it not the best time to think about paying people better for their work? Then everybody could have the possibility of gaining financial independence if they want to. For those, like me, who earn enough or even more than needed, intentional spending means not buying things out of the impulse, things we don't need, seldom use. It means saving money for rainy days and our hobbies. I know a lot of people who have decent salaries but now are in the woods as far as their financial situation is concerned. They overspent before, behaving like children thinking they are entitled to have everything they want, without even thinking the situation may change in a second. Their greed made them blind to anything logical, especially the fact they are really poor even when earning thousands.
Intentional living makes us the owners of our lives, makes us decide not the society. When we make intentional decisions, we become free and freedom is one of the most beautiful things in life. So, I do hope our life after the pandemic will change, that many of us will live with the intention of anything we do.
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