Every illness and misfortune in life holds within its shadow a life-affirming lesson if we are willing to be taught by it. That includes Coronavirus.
Finding meaning, according to Viktor Frankl, is the primary motivation of all human beings, and that meaning is found through self-transcendence. By getting outside ourselves, we can rise above the ego, above our physical limitations, above all obstacles and help others.
I see the Coronavirus as a nasty event, but I also see the flip side of coin—an opportunity to use this painful event to evolve as individual human beings and as a collective consciousness.
Now for my story; Back in 1999, I had an addiction counsellor look me straight in the eye and said: "Paul, I wish I could lock you in a quiet room, all alone, for six months so you could make peace with yourself." I thought he was nuts; however, his idea made me think. What if he was correct? What if the only way I would even know true peace was if I spent quality time by myself in the 'Silence'. And now! The whole world is forced to get up close and personal with 'Silence.' Through social isolation and quarantine because of the COVID-19. You see, the 'Silence' was a plague that I tried to avoid most of my life because it over-amplified how terrible I felt about myself and my life. This pain was the reason I developed a powerful addiction and had multi distractions. It was an unconscious way to not have to face the hard reality - I was uncomfortable in my own skin. Eventually, I had to decide to sit silently with the pain because I tried every way possible not to. It became the big A-HA moment that truly saved my life. I would over time discover that all my psychological pain could be transcended through an awakening of consciousness and I woke-up! It was excruciating in the beginning, but over time I fell in love in the 'Silence'. I discovered the very 'Love' I was seeking outside myself, was already alive and well, in the 'Silence' that I was running from. I am cheering for everyone who is in isolation (as I am) or quarantine, to let go and surrender to the Silence so that you can evolve as spiritual beings attempting to cope with your human awakening. Yes, meaning can be found in our suffering, including COVID-19, if we choose to really look beyond the egoic mind. Just being of service for others can bring lots of meaning. “When we no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Viktor Frankl One-Love Paul Noiles
