Life - Accepting What Is

What do you do in this moment of unprecedented change? Do you resist it or simply stop and accept what is? Join Kosi as she talks about the effect of this radical change to our lifestyle on a global level.

Transcript

There are moments in life when something unexpected happens.

You're in a car accident,

Someone you love suddenly dies,

Unexpected injuries or sickness,

An unexpected chance meeting with a long-lost friend,

Right?

These are moments in life that were not planned.

But if you think of your life,

Did anything really go the way you planned it out in your mind?

Really?

And right now the rug has been pulled out underneath the entire world,

Right?

The coronavirus has changed everyone's plans.

Our lifestyle has been severely altered everywhere on the planet in an attempt to stop the spread of this deadly virus,

Right?

It's unprecedented the amount of change to our everyday routine,

Our everyday interactions.

And suddenly we can realize the simple things,

Getting together with friends at a cafe,

Enjoying a cup of coffee,

Looking out at the lake,

Lake Geneva,

Right?

Or looking out at the sea in Dublin.

We take those moments for granted until suddenly,

Mysteriously,

Those moments are taken away.

And this can evoke a certain frustration or resistance or a denial or a defiance,

Right?

Many people are not listening to the medical advice of medical authorities and governments and thinking they will defy the disease and do whatever they want,

Especially young people who don't seem to be affected,

Or at least they won't necessarily lose their life.

They might get the coronavirus,

But they won't necessarily die from the virus.

If you're older than 60,

It's a whole different story.

Suddenly death is looking you straight on in the face,

Right?

Death is here.

Death is always here,

But it's always pushed to the background until a crisis of this nature emerges to force us to realize that the physical form is limited.

It has a beginning,

It has a middle,

And it has an end.

So it's not a matter of if your body will die,

It's a matter of when and where will the body die,

Will your body die.

But then the question that this teaching really brings to the forefront of your consciousness is are you your body?

Are you really this little tiny body that is vulnerable to an invisible virus that could take your life?

Are you really that?

Or are you something so much more than that limited point of view,

Right?

So this radical change that is flowing around the earth right now with quarantines and entire countries shutting down,

Entire cities shutting down,

Major events being canceled,

All in an effort to stop the spread of this deadly virus,

Right?

And it's changing,

Radically changing your lifestyle.

You can't do what you planned on doing.

And maybe you're in an area where you still pretty much can do what you want,

But there's certain precautions that everyone must adhere to,

Right?

Like washing your hands frequently,

Social distancing,

Not hugging,

Not handshaking,

Right?

These are radical subtle changes to how we normally go through our day.

And just the limitation of not being able to gather together in a large group for a concert or for a soccer match,

Right?

These are just getting together with friends or families getting together.

We're social animals and we thrive on connection,

Right?

This is part of the reason why social media is so powerful because it enables us to connect online instantaneously.

But we live in an age where the technology allows us to connect,

But we still want to be physically with our friends and family,

Our community.

We want to go to events.

We want to enjoy a dinner at a cafe with friends,

Right?

This is the human desire to connect and be together with people we love,

People we cherish,

People we enjoy,

Because we are fundamentally social animals.

We love to get together and look each other in the eyes and give each other a hug,

Right?

The human touch.

And now we're being asked to separate,

Right?

And it's in that global separation with the cancellation of so many major events that's radically changing our daily routine that gives us a profound opportunity to stop everything,

To be still,

And to accept what is,

Not resist it,

Not defy it,

Not to be the radical one that runs around the world in spite of all the warnings,

But to just simply stop everything and be still and discover the stillness ever more deeply,

Intimately that's here and now.

And this is what sets you free from all the turmoil and panic that is beginning to unfold throughout the United States and Europe and has been unfolding in China,

Right?

The fear of,

Oh my god,

I'm not ready to go.

I'm not ready to lose my body,

My life,

My plans,

And resisting that.

So part of this teaching is really stopping to accept what is,

To welcome it,

Love it,

Embrace it as a new adventure.

And this is a global adventure,

Right?

Where things have radically changed.

The rug has been pulled out.

The events you were planning to go to are canceled.

The vacation you were going to go on,

Maybe you'll go on and maybe you won't.

Maybe there's no flights,

Right?

Flights have been canceled.

There's restrictions in travel,

Unprecedented restrictions in travel,

Which means even if you want to go on a vacation to Europe or if you're in Europe and you wanted to come to the United States,

You can't.

You're suddenly told,

Sorry,

No,

You can't do that.

And we're not used to these kinds of restrictions.

As a global community,

We are accustomed to traveling wherever we want and doing whatever we want,

Right?

And seeing and being with whoever we choose to be with,

Whether it's a concert,

A cruise,

A vacation,

A family get together,

Getting together with friends,

Suddenly all of that came to a screeching halt worldwide.

This is totally unusual,

Right?

This is way out of the norm.

And it can be quite a shock.

And it can evoke fear and panic and anxiety.

It triggers the natural survival instincts,

Right?

And this is why people are going crazy at the store and buying everything and not really thinking of the other person.

And there's many,

Many stories that are emerging where people are filling their cart with everything on the shelf and not even stopping for a second to consider that maybe somebody else needs those same supplies,

Right?

Hoarding stuff to protect,

Right?

To protect your body,

To keep you alive.

And then there's fights breaking out over basic food,

Basic things like toilet paper are becoming a desired commodity that's not in abundant quantities like it normally is,

Right?

So this evokes a sense of panic and fear and dread and a sense of doom even.

But when you let go of all of that mental activity,

When you don't resist what is and you just simply accept what is,

Which is right now everyone on the planet is being asked to radically change your lifestyle in order to keep it from spreading faster than it already is,

Right?

So we don't overpopulate the hospitals,

Which are already under a great deal of stress.

So social distancing and washing your hands,

These things all serve to help stop the spread of this deadly virus,

Right?

And yes,

There's radical changes.

You know,

People from Europe can't come to the United States.

People in the United States don't want to go to Europe.

People are canceling their vacations.

All of this stuff is happening because of an invisible realm that we cannot see that is really causing quite a few people on the planet to lose their life.

And even if you're not in the age group,

Right,

Of those who are dying,

There is a call to be more conscientious,

Right?

To wash your hands,

To keep your distance from people who appear to be not well,

Right?

To do your part to help others,

Right?

But this is a profound time to stop everything.

You can call it self-isolation or quarantining yourself,

But really just to stop.

Stop the mental activity.

Stop checking your phone every five seconds.

Stop believing everything you think about what might happen,

And just be still and turn your attention inward to the source and welcome this life-changing time,

This unprecedented global change where we're all suddenly finding ourselves in a place where we suddenly realize that the things that we just normally were able to do without even thinking about it,

Like going to a soccer match or going to a cafe,

Suddenly all of that is not available,

Right?

Nobody's going out,

Especially in places like Italy.

The streets are deserted,

Right?

It's strange.

And that strangeness can evoke a sense of fear unless you're willing to stop and see this as a profound opportunity to really take some time out for yourself to be still,

To be quiet,

And discover who are you really?

What is the purpose of life?

What are you doing with your precious,

Precious life,

Right?

What preoccupies your time and attention?

And when you let go of all this planned activity,

All the things that you wanted to do,

Then suddenly even something simple like having a cup of coffee and looking out at a beautiful sunset,

Right,

Becomes a precious valued moment instead of the norm which we have a cup of coffee,

We look out the window,

But we're preoccupied with our thoughts,

We're preoccupied with our plans,

And the whole universe has conspired to end our plans,

Right?

And so it's in this ending of the plans with the rug completely pulled out of the global consciousness that we have this profound opportunity to really enjoy the simple things in life,

The stillness of a lake,

The song of a bird,

The sound of the wind,

The delicious taste of a cup of coffee or tea,

Right,

A delicious meal,

Just enjoying the simplicity of life.

This is the opportunity that we suddenly find ourselves in and instead of resisting it,

Which generates frustration certainly and stress and anxiety and fear,

Is to welcome this as an opportunity to really appreciate human connection,

Touching someone's hand,

Looking in their eyes,

Giving someone a hug,

Things that we took for granted that now are being asked not to engage in,

A simple handshake.

Now it's the elbow bump,

Not even the hand bump,

Right,

It's the elbow bump.

So stopping everything,

Surrendering your plans,

Letting go of resistance and welcoming this time of change,

This unexpected radical change in our lifestyle,

Welcoming that as an opportunity to really appreciate life,

Right,

To really appreciate that we have a body.

We're not our body,

But we have a body so we can have a cup of coffee and enjoy a beautiful sunset or an early morning sunrise or the dance of a puppy,

Right,

Playing on the street or a wild horse running through a field free or a flock of birds soaring through the sky.

Just the simplicity of noticing these simple things and then deeper noticing what notices.

What is it that sees the puppy playing on the street?

What is it that's aware of the flock of birds soaring through the air?

What sees the beautiful sunrise or sunset?

What is the longing inside for happiness,

For connection,

For love?

What is that longing?

Where does it come from?

And if you follow it deep inside,

Where does that inner journey take you?

This is the discovery that sets you free from any fear,

Anxiety,

Or resistance to what is,

And then there is simply a shift in consciousness to a profound welcoming of what is.

And the simple joy of a cup of coffee or looking into someone's eyes or holding your child or your baby becomes the most precious moment.

A moment of pure awareness and love and gratitude and appreciation for being able to breathe.

If you're not sick,

Breathing is something we take for granted unless suddenly you can't breathe and you find yourself in an emergency room,

Right,

Fighting for your life.

So breath itself can be welcomed as the most precious gift of life.

Life is breath and breath is life and deeper is the source of all life.

And when you dive into that,

There is such incredible joy,

Happiness,

Contentment,

Even in the midst of radical change.

You are that peace.

You are that love.

Dive deep into your own heart and welcome this moment as a profound gift.

The gift of providence,

The gift of faith,

The gift of unprecedented change.

Om Shanti,

Shanti,

Shanti Om.