Your Island, Your Words, Your Choice!!

“What would you do if you were stuck on an island alone?”

We are metaphorically on that Island now!! Some have family to keep them company and some are factually alone.  Each one of us is experiencing our life and the weather on our Island differently and yet similarly. Some days are full of peace and hope and yet others can be worrisome and disheartening.

 A short evening walk with my 13 year old yesterday turned out to be eye/ear opening. We began with grumbling about the current society rules, to having a routine in these times and then suddenly from nowhere, the most precious statement I have heard came tumbling out of an otherwise highly factual and pragmatic young girl. She happily and spontaneously referred to the current period as “an opportunity of a lifetime”. That single statement just lifted my spirits up!! I was so pleasantly surprised by her five-word description that I may have fogged out that for her it could be in context to sleeping late or getting extra screen time.

The truth is that we always have a choice to focus on what works best for us. I am choosing to focus on that magical statement and hold onto to it. The words that we use have a huge impact on how we feel. Irrespective of the thought, our words can act as circuit breakers and break the pattern of our thought and hence feeling. Just like they did for me.

Whatever is happening today is so unique, unfamiliar and unusual, that it almost deserves a treatment that is equally NOVEL (pun intended). What If we accept this as a “IT IS WHAT IT IS” situation with everything that it is taking away from us in terms of our basic freedom, economic growth and certainty. There is loss of life and livelihood. There is change, impacting each and every individual. Yet, how would it serve us to know that the people who can really make a difference right now, are there, doing more than their best? What would it mean to you to know that you will respond well and to the best of your intention and capability to whatever shows up for you?

Irrespective of how my daughter saw it, the many reasons that I see this as an opportunity of a lifetime are as follows:

It’s……….

• Bringing the world closer. Making everyone feel more united and equal, something I have not experienced before.
• Reducing the conflict between and within countries where normally multiple people are fighting for some power/supremacy/random agenda.
• Giving nature time to heal and renew
• Bringing down the crime rate, even if it may be temporary.
• Filling up so many empty nests across the world.
• Giving us a range of new heartwarming experiences; Families eating meals/exercising/playing/creating/doing chores together, even giving each other haircuts :D, we have  access to the esteemed company of our teenagers who are now hanging out with us a bit more, we are having deeper conversations, pets and small children have their anchors around for time unlimited, heightened concern for our neighbours, senior citizens and those less fortunate.
• Making us socialise in creative ways like never before (mostly through windows, balconies, video chats)
• Making our lives simpler in so many ways (realising how little we actually need)
• Permitting us time for health, hobbies, creativity, new business ideas and new way of looking at work and life.
• Making Monday after Monday look like Sunday (and this may certainly never happen again)

 Have you just had an over-dose of positivity?? That is exactly what the Doctor currently recommends. Wash your hands off the virus of bad news, vocabulary and negative thoughts. Our words said and unsaid have a huge power over how we feel. Think of the word disaster and replace it with setback, think of recession and replace with time for innovation, think of loss and add the word temporary before it. Think of words like patience, hope, a passing phase more often. Time to raise the quality of the words we use. They can heal and help more than many other things.

 The above passage also made me reflect on a person who I believe lives this. A person called Abdul; he was the helper in my in-laws home many years ago. If you ever asked Abdul how he is, his response has always been “BAHUT Badhiya Sahib” (translated: Incredibly Well Sir) with an extra dose of energy to the word Bahut. We recently received the unfortunate news that Abdul got detected with cancer. A call was due, and we imagined it to be a sad/sorry conversation and yet the day we called him there was the brightest, most lively voice at the other end, just a reminder of the original Abdul spirit.

We may be uncertain of the times ahead and yet we can be certain of how we think and speak about it.

Sigmund Freud did rightly say “Words have a magical power. They can either bring the greatest happiness or the deepest despair”

 What words are being said on your Island? On mine “An Opportunity of a lifetime”

 Sanah Singh Tomar (15/04/20-23)

The author is a certified coach, who partners with people for their personal and professional growth. Do reach out for your free consultation.