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EPISODE 94 – PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
Hi there, welcome back to Kelly Martin Speaks. I’m your host Kelly Martin and this is episode 94.
In today’s episode I am going to talk about why we are now compelled to pay attention.
As the world comes to terms with this new way of living, as the Covid-19 pandemic takes root across the globe, we have many choices to make as both individuals and as countries. We can make the choice to have this experience break us or make us.
For many, isolation and social distancing is part of everyday life and so we probably find it a lot easier than many do, but for some, being at home with nothing but their own thoughts, that can be so hard.
I did a short video for someone doing a dissertation and wanted me to talk about mental health and what kind of affect lockdown has on it and I came up with two conclusions.
The first being that those who suffer from depression, anxiety, alcoholism, drug addiction and other issues may find that these symptoms intensify. And secondly, many who thought they did not have any mental health issues will find that they did all along, but they were masked and hidden beneath the ‘over-doing’ that most of us engage in in the world today.
If you are struggling with your mental health at this time, please speak to a Doctor or Therapist, you don’t have to do this alone. This time is hard for many people, there are people out there who can help. You can do this online, via telephone, video call or text.
For example, a very social extrovert, who works a lot of hours, and generally has very little time to themselves, may find that their mental world is very loud right now. There’s nothing wrong with this. It is perfectly normal, especially when the mind has been overfull with lots of other stuff for a very long time.
And for some, the idea of slowing down may bring up many issues from childhood, fears that they had, but had pushed down with other distractions. So many fears can arise from our ego. The fear of lack and limitation being a big one. The fear of being abandoned in our isolation as social distancing measures continue worldwide, the fear of death and potentially the fear of attack.
Many people have lived a very outward looking life. Looking out to what gives them the next fix, the next motivation, the next attention from another human being, the next drama. Looking out to vacations abroad, social time with family and friends, big events like football, concerts, and groups they may have been members of, all taken away for some time.
We have been taught to be outward looking, not attending to our inner world and now we have the time and space to do this.
We Have A Great Opportunity
We have a tremendous opportunity to find genuine inner peace, genuine inner grace, genuine inner prosperity. All of these not coming from things, people, stuff, distractions, but from within. The possibilities are endless when we use catastrophe, crisis, and challenge for forward momentum into a whole new way of living and being as humans.
So, it doesn’t matter whether it is because of this pandemic or another life crisis. We could have lost a loved one, been made redundant from our jobs, had a terrible health diagnosis, all of these things encourage us into change and transformation if we let them.
“We are compelled to pay attention”.
I heard this sentence on a video by the teacher Mooji. It made me lift up inside, as if something inside of me was putting me on high alert. That I too have the opportunity to drown in the woes and pain of the world, or to find a middle ground.
I’ve been saying for a while now that we can choose to focus on the negative taking place, or we can acknowledge what is taking place, accept it, change what we can and surrender to what we can’t and to me this goes one step further.
Being compelled to pay attention means we not only do this, but we use this time to witness what is taking place within. We really get to know who we are. We find out what is real about us. We find out what is true about us. We find out what is here now in our lives that we can find a deep gracious life satisfaction in. Beyond the perceived lack and limitation, beyond the fear and insecurities.
And as Mooji said:
“Your true nature is not lost”
I’ve noticed in myself that there are days when I feel pain looking at news headlines when the media destroys morale and I feel frustrated when I look down on my exercise walks locally and see plastic gloves and masks disposed of on the city streets and it can feel hard to not be scared for my mother who is in a high risk group and to wonder when she will be able to leave lockdown. I fear for her. A part of me wants to wrap her and my best friend Mike who is in his eighties in cotton wool, but this I cannot do, it is out of my control.
All of these fears are future fears, of things that I worry could happen, but have not. This is when I forget my true nature.
And then I have other days, I walk out of my front door, the sun is shining, I ignore the litter on the streets, and I look up to the vast blue sky, the infinite sun and I inwardly smile. I see the new growth on the trees, and I hear the birds singing and all is well with my world. Yes, terrible things are happening globally, but for now, in the moment which is the only time any of us ever have, all is well.
My true nature, much like yours, is hidden beneath the fear and worry. It is hidden beneath the distraction and I choose to have compassion for myself on those days when I get lost in my ego fears because I know my true nature becomes me the more I embrace what I have, the beauty that is here, not in the future but here now.
Many of us could look to the lack, we could dwell on the fact we cannot go on holiday abroad this year. We may dwell on the fact we miss birthdays together and big social events, but we have so much more. We have our health, we have our moments, we breathe, we live. It doesn’t matter what we have but how we choose to embrace what we do have.
I am so grateful for the food I have right now. I am so grateful for my home. I miss being able to visit my mum this year up north, because to get there I would need to fly or travel by train and I don’t think public transport would be a healthy place for me right now and so I accept what is. I acknowledge the longing to visit and see her, but I accept that I cannot, and I make the most of our daily telephone calls and video chats.
I feel the peace on the roads locally, as fewer people drive. And as a city dweller, this is a real blessing for me to be part of nature even in the concrete jungle.
We can all pay attention more now; we have the time. We can all find a new experience of stillness, but from within first and foremost. We are blessed if we really take time out and see this.
You may be living alone and not seeing anyone.
You may be living in an overcrowded family home, aching to escape from your family.
You may be sick and recovering from Covid-19 or another health issue.
You may be grieving from loss.
But during all of this, we can find quiet time, breathing, witnessing, and paying attention to what gifts we have here. We can learn new skills in how we treat ourselves, how we treat others and we can find out what it is that we want from a far deeper place now.
Distractions are gone if we allow them to be.
And now we can find our true North Star.
What is this crisis teaching you? What is this pandemic awaking in you?
Thanks for listening to this episode of Kelly Martin Speaks
If you have a question or topic you are struggling with and would like me to answer on an upcoming podcast episode, please get in touch. Your name will be confidential. EMAIL me at kellymartinspeaks@gmail.com or message me on Facebook via my page Kelly Martin Speaks.
And don’t forget, if you feel that others are passing you by and ‘The Not Good Enough’ voice is screaming loudly, pop by kellymartin.uk to find out all about my books, including Book 1 ‘When Everyone Shines but You’
You can also support my channel via my podcast page on my website kellymartinspeaks.co.uk via Paypal or buy me a coffee via ko-fi.
Until next time…bye for now
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Kelly Martin, author of ‘When Everyone Shines But You’ is a dedicated writer and blogger who fearlessly explores life’s deepest questions. Faced with a decade of profound anxiety and grief following the loss of her father and her best friend Michael, Kelly embarked on a transformative journey guided by mindfulness, and she hasn’t looked back since. Through her insightful writing, engaging podcasts, and inspiring You Tube channel Kelly empowers others to unearth the hidden treasures within their pain, embracing the profound truth that they are ‘enough’ exactly as they are.
