Finding inner peace

Nurturing and honoring ourselves can be especially challenging during this time of COVID-19.

To help cope with the current roller-coaster ride of the pandemic, the economy, race issues, politics and global warming, try checking in with yourself every day. Are you tired? Do your muscles ache? Are you angry? Are you overloaded with information? Do you need a kind word, reassurance or a hug?  We are so much more effective when we pay attention, take care of what’s in the way, pause, and then continue on.

A simple walk outside, just breathing, talking to a friend on the phone, giving your loved ones a hug, or going to a place where you can inhale the beauty of nature may be all you need to find balance. Even when we must follow social-distancing protocols, summer offers so much opportunity to be outside and enjoy the fresh air that is needed for physical, emotional and mental well-being.

The following is a story from my book “Pathfinding: Seven Principles for Positive Living.”

A man and a woman were strolling along a crowded sidewalk in a downtown business area. Suddenly one of them exclaimed, “Did you hear that meow?”

They both stopped and listened intently. “There it is again. Didn’t you hear it?” asked the one who had heard the kitten a second time.

“How can you hear that kitten’s meow in this frenzied city?” her companion asked.

The woman smiled but did not explain. She simply took a quarter out of her purse and dropped it on the sidewalk, causing a dozen people to look around for the loose change. “We hear,” she said, “what we listen for.”

Listen for the things that bring joy and inner peace, especially in this time of crisis. Step out on faith and you’ll get faith-lifts wherever you go. As Rabbi David Cooper wrote on his website, www.rabbidavidcooper.com, “In Judaism, the Kabalistic idea that creation is taking place in each and every moment brings an acute sensitivity to everything … an entirely new perspective that sees things as they are.”

PATRICIA RASKIN, owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is a media host, coach and award-winning radio producer and business owner. She is on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence.