What Have We All Learned About Ourselves in 2020?!
[This post is from the December 2020 newsletter – click here to read it.]
Happy Holidays! Man, it’s been one wild rollercoaster ride after another this past year. Lots of folks have said to me that they’d like this year thrown into the most fiery incinerator possible and buried in an unmarked grave. I totally understand.
I’ve had some of these same thoughts, on and off. Back in March and April I, too, felt quite lost and forsaken as the lockdowns encroached more and more on our basic rights and freedoms. At times, I felt really scared as the Mexican city we live in seemed more and more like a ghost town. If one more storekeeper pointed a temperature-taking gun at my head, I was going to take them to the floor like an Hapkido Master. Mandatory masks were extremely upsetting as people were taken to the local police station and charged with heavy fines if found not wearing one.
I took a lot of homeopathic remedies for anger, fear and loss of inner value. There were a lot of Orchid Essences in that mix as well as my colleague in Canada was experimenting with different combinations and she was seeking a fellow voyageur in this realm of flower essences. At some point in early May a switch occurred and I started to feel more secure and even joyful, again, at times.
I was reading voraciously for hours every morning. I got back into my Gnostic studies. I also studied gematria, anthropology, anthroposophy and many books on art as I was drawing again on the patio with the umbrella up on Sundays. We started ordering food from a woman who crafts healthy international foods like a chef of great acclaim even though she hails from Kingston, Ontario. She also brought me raw cow’s milk from a neighboring farm. I teared up the first time.
This helped me feel the nurturing I needed in order to serve others carrying an incredibly heavy load; suddenly homeschooling their kids, others trying to find their right geography in these raucous times and sorting through their own feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, resignation and outright terror. Suddenly folks were calling in unable to sleep, suffering panic attacks and depression.
I quickly realized that I had to up my own game to help shoulder the load that my beloved patients were carrying. I started fasting twice a week for 6 weeks in order to lighten my own load. My exercise and weight bearing program became more rigorously adhered to. I was out walking in the sunshine 6 days a week doing 8,000 to 10,000 steps each hike, here, at 6,500 feet above sea level.
I ordered fish oil from Norway, got some powdered Reishi Mushrooms in capsules and powder for my shakes, oregano oil, got a zinc and turmeric combination, ensured I had a good Vitamin C supplement and took a mitt full of all these supplements everyday just like I counsel patients to do instead of my more laissez-faire two or three times per week.
While this year has proven to be intense with many challenges, I feel as if I’ve grown exponentially and that I better understand the functional purpose for humanity at this time. We’re burning off our mechanical and materialistic karma in favour of self-knowledge and a deeper love and compassion for our fellow men and wombyn. The concept of self-education has taken off like a beacon in the ethos of many families. It’s been so heartening on so many levels.
I know that we are going to craft our future together, peer to peer, shoulder to shoulder while carrying so many less financial and spiritual burdens in the end. These turbulent and difficult times will end and the individual will bear the new dawn with a renewed sense of grace never known before in our lifetimes.
Jeff and I want to wish you all an abundant, loving, and spiritually meaningful holiday season. We will be soaking up some rays, swimming in the ocean, reading for hours in the shade and enjoying some time with resonant friends here in Mexico.