A dear friend of mine shared this beautiful video, and prose with me as we turned the pages into the New Year of 2021.
Kevin McCormack’s inspiring words of hope during this pandemic crisis the world is facing, touched my heart and soul as a reminder of what really matters. I won’t lie and say that it has been a bed of roses, as we all have been affected in some way. My own frustrations of missing a ‘normal’ life of social interaction, as I watched in horror the chaos unfold was something I never imagined in my life time.
The hysteria surrounding us externally in the media, our own lives, the lives of loved ones, families and friends, and the impact to all of humanity and societies globally reminded me to come back to self and nature where the answers lie. I had to find a sense of calm and dig deep some days, as I was searching for answers with conflicting medical opinions as media censorship was evident when medical truth seekers and warriors of light were sharing alternate views against the narrative. A red flag for me having lived in countries growing up where censorship was real. My buttons have been pushed as I don’t like being told what to do, and treated as a threat every time I go out in public to get ‘essentials’. In my little world view everything has been challenged. The past year has proven that everything is an illusion. It’s like being part of a movie set some days.
Taking back what I can control is in my power as a sovereign human being, and letting go what is out of my control by taking the next step, staying present and be ‘in presence’ to those around us certainly helps in some small way. The answers come when we give ourselves permission to pause, reflect and breathe in this moment – it’s all we have – this moment ‘in this time’. This video and the words offered me hope and a reminder to take stock. I am forever grateful to everyone who has been of service, and the gestures of kindness I have experienced and witnessed from family, friends and even strangers.
Today is all that matters and what I do with it. This is the time to take advantage of the winter UK lockdown – go within, continue to be a truth seeker, be of service and love others, and reflect. I may not like lockdown or agree with it – yet accepting where I am, and what I can do during this time to be appreciative of everything I do have, and this beautiful home we call Mother Earth.
My vision for all of us wherever we are in the world is that we come out of this crisis with grace, more kindness, tolerance and compassion for everyone. We will need each other to rebuild our lives and communities.
And a daily reminder I give myself is to keep the faith and chase those dreams. They are waiting. This too shall pass.
With love, Suitcase Cally
The poem: Copyright © Kevin McCormack – If This Time
“If this time has taught me anything, it is that the tiny speck in this universe that we occupy, is both wonderful and wondrous, and if we allow it to, the beauty around us can unlock the beauty within us; and teach us far more than our schooling ever did.
If this time has taught me anything, it is that success and how we measure it, needs to be redefined, and that the only person to whom you should ever compare yourself, is who you were yesterday.
Make your growth game strong, and along the way be kind to yourself – if you are doing your best then you are doing enough.
If this time has taught me anything, it is that it is more important now than ever before, to see the world through your own eyes, begin by looking at yourself – look honestly and look gently. Look inward with compassion and kindness and look outward with humility and appreciation.
If this time has taught me anything, it is that the opposite of love is not hate, but fear – and our greatest fear is losing that to which we have become attached.
Yesterday is heavy put it down. Seeing the beauty in the world around you Is the first step in purifying the clearing the mind, and If this time has taught me anything, it is that nature unlike us, never apologises for her beauty.
If this time has taught me anything, it is that life really is about the journey, not the destination. And it must be, for surely, we are not here to reach the destination, for the destination is death. Be alive for after all, life is all you’ve got, and when you pay attention to the things for which you are grateful, you soon forget about what you think you’re missing.
If this time has taught me anything, it is that bitter tears are the quietest, and on the days when your head wants to hang low, it is important that you look up. Lift your head. Take it in, and breathe deep, for while this world can sometimes be a hard place, your reality and what you perceive it to be, are seldom aligned.
If this time has taught me anything, is that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. We can see universes within universes, but only when we pay enough attention, and this is as true as the nature within us, as it is of the nature around us.
If this time has taught me anything it is this:
If true love conquers everything, then self-love gives it the fortitude to do so. Know that you are more than your scars – know that every wound in you has healed along the way has taught you what it is to fight back; and to start again from where you are, with what you’ve got. Beat your own pathway, without seeking the approval of others and know that self-love is not vanity.
If this time has taught me anything, it is this:
HOPE matters and we cannot live without it. This time has taught me that HOPE is not a wish, nor a desire for things to be different. It is a course of action, a combination of mind and heart.
The future can be better and can be brighter, and we each have the power within us to make it so.
There will be challenges to face along the way, to which there are many solutions. There is a source of resilience deep within us all.
If this time does not teach us, that time itself is precious, then will have missed the lesson.
The lesson that never before have the past and the future been so irrelevant, and that the quest to “find ourselves” has been fruitless till now; only because we have been searching in all the wrong places.
We are here, we are now. We are each and every breath we take.
Every day is a gift – a gift to begin again, and to grasp with both hands, the fresh opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn.
If this time is not wasted. “