Photo by Edwin Hooper

It’s been one year since the life we once knew, is no longer, and the life we know today seems unrecognizable. To be honest, we still don’t know exactly what life is supposed to be like. The uncertainty is still dominant, the fears and the instability, the losses and grief, the disappointments and the frustrations; they are all still here.

So much happened since we first went into lockdown. Each nation experienced things differently in their own timeline as events unfolded and decisions were made on a whim. Nothing was premeditated or thought about extensively before rolling out the changes. Everything was different and somehow, someway, we lived through those times until we are here today to reflect back at what transpired.

It is easy to get caught up in the low vibrations and negative thoughts, since most of what you see and hear is depressing. The lives we have lost as a result of this deadly virus, the health care systems that crashed, the jobs that were lost, the businesses that shut down, the economies that collapsed, and the life that we once experienced disappeared overnight. At every step, we wondered, ‘can it get any worse?’ Shortly after, we would get the answer and you are left speechless wondering, what is coming next.

We have lived in this uncertainty for just about one year now. It’s been a really tough ride for every single person on this planet. We have all been affected someway or another. That’s how powerful this event is. The world at large is undergoing a major shift, one, that no one saw coming. At least I didn’t. But it happened and we are living it, fighting through it, making this profound event a historical one by all means.

A few weeks and months into the lockdown, I have written about the positive and negative effects of COVID-19 and I analyzed how our lives were changing. I was choosing to see the glass half full instead of empty. I was riding on a wave of hope for a better future and dissolution into the unknown. I held on to my beliefs that everything is happening as it is meant to happen and it is all for the greater good of humanity and our planet.

Here I am, at the anniversary of this pandemic, reflecting once more, feeling I am exactly where I am meant to be, having experienced all that I have this past year. And in my heart, I feel that everyone on this earth, is right where they are meant to be, even with the losses and the pain. For me, there is no doubt that miracles are happening. I don’t question if this is God’s punishment on mankind as some people have been led to believe. I don’t allow myself to be taken hostage by the unconscious thoughts of the collective. I stand my ground and I am centered in my being, knowing that all is well and all shall be as it is meant to be.

My role here on this earth today is to hold positive vibrations, for myself and for those around me. I can only do my part. Everyone has a duty to do their part. The more of us holding that space of being grounded and centered, untethered by the chaos surrounding, we will prevail. We can make a difference. Yes, YOU can make a difference by choosing peace instead of war, love instead of hate, hope instead of despair, forgiveness instead of resentment, above all surrender instead of the illusion of control.

This experience, if it hasn’t taught you anything else, let that be your lesson. You cannot control any outcome the way you desire it to be. You cannot control the journey you take to get where you want to go. You can plan and plan, but in the end, things will turn out the way they are meant to. No matter how much you huff and puff. What is meant for you to live, there is no escaping. And when you learn that lesson, when you truly absorb it, you will be at peace because you will no longer be fighting your way through; you will just allow, you will BE.

Photo by Hamza Nouasria

Corona or no Corona, your life is special and your journey on this earth is unique, just the same as who you are as a person. Reflect on how much you have grown. Appreciate the blessings you have had and continue to have. Recognize the lessons that showed up for you to learn. Stand tall because you have endured, you have persevered and you have conquered. Be proud of how you handled the hardships. Allow yourself to celebrate YOU, for being here, a year later, possibly one of your toughest ever. No matter what is coming next and what the future may look like for you, don’t forget to breathe now. This moment, right here, is all the evidence you need to reconnect with that part of you that is always here. Celebrate YOU!!