Namaste Readers,
Last year, when the pandemic began, everyone had to face unanswered questions, weird times, and uncanny situations and so did I. The time I was locked up at home, gave me a way to new chances and potential opportunities. Truly, in my eighteen years of life, the last year taught me a lot of things and made my life intriguing, and helped me with thoughts, contemplations, and learning abilities. My first newsletter on Substack is something I want to make special and memorable. When I turn back in the future I want to smile and make others smile as I read this out loud. With this in mind, I want to begin my first letter as a personal letter rather than a newsletter where I address each and every one of you. Before I begin further there are two things I want my readers to know, that this is a platform for all of you who wishes to bring in a change and bring in self-development. Secondly, the newsletters are drafted by me are gone through thorough scrutiny and check-ins. You will have to spend 6 min a week to stay connected with me! I would address my subscribers as HoPatrons and since you are no less than a patron in my world because you are the support and motivation I get to keep writing and work for my mission! Share and spread the word about HoP because every read count brings in a smile on my face and my content always aims to bring smiles to everyone who reads it and shares!
A LETTER TO OUR HoPatrons
Dear HoPatrons,
We are all suffering from the crisis and chaos running in the world presently. The present times were not very easy, but let’s take a deep breath and close our eyes for a while. Though the extent of our exhaustion and overwhelm varies, it’s safe to say that we are all beyond our patience levels and are worn out. Tired of the lockdowns, virtual hangouts, online life we are leading but amidst all this we all know that we have always been taught to look on the bright side and stay optimistic. We are uncertain when the pandemic will end, but we are certain that we have to still live our lives and continue with the flow. Every situation in life has a bright and a dark side of its own. Many times we forget to see the bright side because the dark side is too dominant that we never actually try to get out of it. I write this letter to my readers to help you see this bright side and in an attempt to give you a break from your online life and push a pause button for you to set back and relax while I help you see the bright side. As you swipe your mobile screen down further, I request you wipe away all your fears, anxieties, exhaustion, and any other feeling that’s causing you to stop smiling. Now that you swipe away the turbulence and I am assured that you smile, let’s dig in. I concur that last year wasn't incredible to anybody, however, to think profoundly it might have been even worse. Pandemic has shown us numerous things, the importance of having good health, keeping an actual social gathering, believing that unimaginable things can occur and we should be prepared, need to create versatility and figure out how to discover harmony and peace in things around us, respecting our nature and leading a life where we control technology instead of it controlling us. We have been trying to achieve a lot of things, finding new ways to accomplish a mission, building our resumes, and working tirelessly for the appreciation we look for but is that all right? We take a break watching Netflix or eating the pizza ordered, but this only provides you with a temporary break and there is a lot deeper for you to dive in so that you don’t have to feel the urge to have these breaks and face the exhaustion. Pandemic taught us an important lesson to challenge ourselves and prepare us for any and all circumstances that we were never meant to face. Building resilience is essentially that is helping people to get by with the current situations. Resilience can help us get through and overcome hardships, but resilience is not something we were born with—it’s developed with time through the experiences we have gone through in life.
That’s why, despite experiencing the same thing, each one of us has different views on the current pandemic. Some find this as an opportunity to grow and learn- learning to adapt to change, to build resilience while others are exhausted and tired of the sea of questions and worries that are lying in front of them haunting their peace. We are always taught to look on the bright side and believe to follow that, “this shall pass too”. But are we able to adapt these wise words? How are some able to look on the bright side and stay positive even during the toughest times while others are in a state of acute stress and panic? The answer is the level of resilience you have built up in your mind and body. Think of resilience as a seesaw -the negative experiences tip the scale towards bad outcomes, and positive experiences tip it towards good outcomes. We saw that resilience is built over time with our experiences and understanding, so the fulcrum of resilience being your experience defines the ability for you to move on and withstand the worse times in your life. We all have everything we want in our subconscious mind, the resilience we are talking about, the money we want to earn, or anything in the world we wished for but the art of extracting this from your subconscious mind is what only some master and then lead a life where they are happy and healthy. So why can’t we start doing it? Our experiences are governed by what we think and decide that will happen. The power to think lies within us, if you think you can see the bright side of the pandemic-you will, if you think you can start developing the resilience you want-you will, if you think you are enjoying the things you are doing there is nothing that will stop you from being happy. Remind yourself that you are no more exhausted and unhappy. You can handle the online life you are leading and you know that this too shall pass! We are in crisis, but only when we decide to fall into the trap we do, until and unless we are free to move. Practising resilience is very easy and once we start doing it, that will create a change. During the pandemic, we had to work in our homes doing household chores, washing dishes which frustrated a lot of people. All of us need executive function and self-regulation skills to manage daily life, but stress makes it more difficult to use the skills we have and hence it's important to keep your composure at all times. When you challenge yourself, you will automatically start possessing resilience. Ask this question, what worse can happen than this? Keep asking until you answer that “nothing worse can happen to me and I am prepared”.
For example, don’t use your phone for one full day, or stop calling your servants for a weekend and do your chores yourself, ultimately making you fall under the situations that will challenge you and change. The moment you master resilience you will no longer be attached to worldly pleasures. You don’t have to sacrifice them, but just learn to live without them and this can be achieved when you start practising resilience and built it in yourself. Don’t run behind stuff in a hurry, relax, and refresh. Be passionate about everything you do. One good way to achieve calm and peace is through meditating. The pandemic has allowed you to isolate yourself for some time and practice this special mantra to happiness. Close your eyes and think of nothing, focus on your breath, and continue the process for as long as you want until you just feel right. Well, there is one thing in the last we want to point out, do everything we told you to try but only within a limit. Too much resilience isn’t right as well, just get the right amount. Too much positivity isn’t good too, so think positive but not in the extremes. Life becomes wonderful when we do things within a limit, we have a good belief in this quote, “Be limitless within a limit”. Too much of anything can cause chaos to just try to get the right amount. Too much usage of social media, eating or even writing can be harmful and produce bad results. So with this in reference, I drop my virtual pen at this moment so as not to piss you off. I hope you now can manage this pandemic mentally and be ready to face the unusual circumstances that will arise in the future.
Cheers
Nova
PS: Keep smiling as there is a lot you got to explore in the future! Join my quest now!
Disclaimer: All the thoughts and ideas discussed are exclusively the author’s individual thoughts and do not represent any association/foundation/individuals the author is related to. Anything that may have hurt the sentiments of any group or groups of individuals is inadvertent and without malice. The author at no point means to demonize or insult any religion, practice, gathering, or individuals.
Very well written!!