Just after my spell of “COVID-19 anxiety” yesterday, I had an epiphany after a brief exchange with my 3-year-old. You see, now that the weather is warming, and the flowers have begun to bloom, we have developed a slight ant problem in our home. The ants pop up unexpectedly, sometimes one or two, sometimes in groups. As I walked around the house talking “all things COVID-19” with my husband, my little one in tow, we suddenly spotted several ants scurrying about in our living room. Judah, my little guy, started shouting “Look mommy!! Ants!! Aaaaannntttsss!!! Hurryyyyyy!!!!” He starts frantically running around in circles. Cutest thing ever, but unhelpful in any case. The ant continued to go about their business during Judah’s tirade. I spotted the ants, took a deep breath, grabbed a few tissues, the vacuum, and a can of all-natural bug spray, then got down to the business of trying to solve the ant problem.
At that moment, it dawned on me! I was acting just like my little Judah. My panicked conversation and futile ruminating was the 3-year-old equivalent of running in circles! All of this directionless expenditure of energy was all for naught. In fact, the problem in discussion remained unchecked. My husband and I looked at each other and laughed simultaneously, me with the levity of someone who had a giant weight removed from their shoulders.
When I was done removing the ants, I calmly did some breathing exercises, researched effective antiviral remedies and potential future treatments, ordered needed supplies for my family (hey, wine counts as a “needed supply”!), and planned our garden for this upcoming season. This global pandemic is certainly an enormous problem, one that requires calmness, intelligence, and equanimity of mind in order to endure and prevail. The ants will probably return, as do many challenges in life, but I will continue to practice staying calm in my center, and save the running in circles for my little one! I encourage us all do to the same.
#covid19 #problems #anxiety #selfempowerment #ants #epiphany
