Details

Published: 09 February 2021

Inner peace and happiness are possible even during a long-lasting pandemic. The "new normal" is a phrase that has entered our everyday speech, along with terms such as "social distancing," "physical distancing," or "PPE." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives have been changed.

To think that almost a year ago, we weren't living under the restrictions of a pandemic! I still remember the day I was told to leave work. We all were under the impression we'd return in a couple of weeks. Just a brief "vacation" of sorts. Who knew that almost a year later, I'm still working from home. Life has changed for all of us, and we don't know when it'll end. And that not knowing is the origin of our stress taking away our inner peace. 

The idea of a "new normal" is problematic and causes many of us to feel anxious. Friends and clients of mine worry that life may never be how it was before the pandemic. Yes, that may be true. But I wonder if a return to life as it was is in our best interest. 

How The Modern World Necessitates Inner Peace

"The modern world takes a…

Read more: How To Find Inner Peace And Happiness During COVID

Details

Published: 11 August 2020

Grief is a typical human experience, but the COVID-19 pandemic has upended many of the ways we usually manage the loss. Here are my tips on coping healthily with your grief. 

Grief is one of those emotions that many of us think of only during the loss of a loved one. And while this is the grief, many of us experience grief, and the grieving process, can happen whenever we have a loss. 

During COVID-19, we have experienced many deaths, and those events elicit feelings of grief, but almost everyone has experienced loss due to the coronavirus. We have lost employment, lost freedom of movement lost ability to meet with family and friends as we used to, and lost a sense of control over our lives. All of these are losses that can lead us to feel grief. 

The Mayo Clinic reports that "In addition to feeling grief over the loss of life caused by COVID-19, you're likely grieving the loss of your normal routine." Check out my article on this topic written a couple of months ago by clicking here. 

"Not only are people now grappling with the loss of normalcy, but also with anticipatory grief, or…

Read more: How To Healthily Cope With Grief During Covid-19

Details

Published: 13 July 2020

Why aren't you happy? This is a question we often ask ourselves, answering ourselves with excuses we tell ourselves. Can I be happy? Sure, you can, but are you sure you want to be happy? 

I find that today, listening to the news and hearing people bickering about politics is not easy to be happy. Even if I am happy, once I hear about more violence in the country, I'm no longer happy. So why aren't you happy? Try to be happy in today's culture!

Fair observation. Outside forces and experiences can and do take away our happiness. Being happy isn't always easy, but it does happen. You may want to check out a previous article of mine I titled: "Happiness Is Not The Answer But Here's What Is."  

In that article, I wrote: "Happiness is a fleeting emotion which comes and goes. As such, happiness can't be a life goal. This is why I don't encourage people to seek happiness as a life goal." My premise is that we need to focus on inner peace instead of a fleeting of happiness. But for the purpose of this article, I'm content with using the word happy. 

Many…

Read more: Why Aren’t You Happy? How To Change That

Details

Published: 29 June 2020

Angry at society appears to be the primary emotion of our time. As this angry feeling festers, it can lead to feeling hatred. Yes, there is also kindness found in society, and I do know people who are not angry. What can we do with our angry emotions so that we can turn them into a sense of being peaceful, and we don't end up feeling hatred?

Angry at society? Why is there so much anger? We see it in the streets, in demonstrations, on social media, etc. I have my theories, but the focus of this article is not on the why, or the origin, of the anger. Instead, I write this article on anger from the perspective of mindfulness. 

In mindfulness, we are urged to remain in the moment, non judgmentally. Following that suggestion, I don't necessarily need to understand why someone is angry. Assuming anger is taking a person from their peace, I guide that person to shift their perspective and so take action in the hopes of returning that person to a sense of peace.

As a counselor and practitioner of mindfulness, I don't perceive anger as either positive or negative. The feeling is the…

Read more: Angry At Society - how to feel peaceful not hatred