During the past many months of this Covid-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a mind-boggling array of both suffering and benevolence. Even though we can hardly wait for the suffering to end, we recognize that the benevolence might include elements we would be glad to preserve once the pandemic “event” comes to an end.
By incorporating a wish practice into post-pandemic living, we have found that we can create more of the life we want out of all that we have. For us, it started with seven steps. We would like to share these steps with you here in our first post to help you harvest the joys from your time during the pandemic and manage the challenges that remain, as well as any that emerge anew.
Create a gratitude list - This is to help you build and appreciate a sense of fulfillment in your life by noticing what you already have that brings you joy.
Identify your “buckets” where your life’s experiences are collected - This can include work, family, friends, entertainment, spirituality, self-care, exercise, personal growth, diversion, contribution, and finances. Please note, though, that these are our suggestions. You may substitute any other word(s) to more accurately label your buckets.
Write out your experiences during the pandemic and fill each bucket - Within each bucket, create three lists - positive, negative, and neutral. These represent how you felt with each experience. Then, assign them in their respective bucket to one of the feelings you felt during that time.
Put together all the positive lists from all of your buckets - Then, write a statement about each experience describing what felt positive and what you want to carry forward.
Repeat Step 4 for each experience you felt neutral about - Consider what in that experience you may want to carry forward in your life and write a positive statement.
Bring your attention to the list of experiences you felt negative about - Are there any elements in a particular experience that, on reflection, you felt positive about? If so, write a positive statement about carrying that forward in your life. Then, consider any experiences where negative feelings remain; write a positive statement on how you are going to change that experience or eliminate it.
Finally, organize all of your positive statements - Start writing out wishes, so you can bring the positives that you’ve identified from your pandemic experience out in order to live a more fulfilling life with more outcomes that generate positive feelings.
Photo Credit
The photo featured in this post was taken by (and is copyrighted by) Margaret A. Herrick.