Recently, all of us here at Tiny Devotions reached out to you, our Tribe, and asked you to tell us anything you were willing to share about your experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many of us are still in the heart of the struggle, but when we received your responses, we felt more grounded + connected than we had all year.
The courage, strength, and wisdom so many of you displayed inspired each of us at our workshop, and we are determined to share + solidify your voices here on our site. This Blog Post is dedicated purely to your responses. May it connect us, remind us we are not alone, + help us all get through this and come out stronger than ever before. <3
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A letter to myself from the past,
In 2020 there will be a pandemic. Your children will be 3, turning 4 and 5. Your awareness of a pandemic before this time has been through movies that are pushed aside as plots are imagined and stretched into thriller and horror. But this one will be real. You will see your husband’s best friend take his own life. You will struggle with pain and loss. What will be ever harder, you will struggle with your life partner and best friend go through pain and loss. You will try to fix it but won’t be able to.
Schools will close and activities will be cancelled in hopes to flatten the curve. Hospitals will be overrun and there will be a massive run on toilet paper, baby wipes and even chicken and pork.
Graduations will be virtual and parades will be organized—for well wishes, for birthdays, anniversaries and even holidays. We will try to connect 6 feet apart. It will be weird and somewhat strange.
Businesses will close their doors. You know the ones—the businesses where people poured sweat, tears, and dreams into. The news of each closure will tug at your heart until there’s a lump in your throat.
There will be tears. There will be so much fear.
It won’t ever get easier but you will adapt and become stronger.
There will be hope. There will be so much hope. And love.
There will be community—it’ll look different but it sounds the same.
Pen pals are a thing again. You know those letters you used to handwrite to your nana? Yes, those.
Part of your days will include taking time to notice and thank essential workers. You will teach the next generation about what it means to be “essential” and on the front lines. They will respect others in a whole different way. This will stick.
Your kids will vocalize to you that they miss normal and it’ll poke your heart until it feels like it’s bleeding. You’ll miss it too, one hundred times over but you’ll smile and bake a cake and read with them. You’ll be so strong for them. Your phenomenal mothering will be what they remember.
You’ll start a new company. It’s not the yoga studio you dreamed of. It doesn’t have huge windows with a water feature or even curtains. It’s a guest room in your home that you hollowed out to keep refining your craft. It’s 100 percent virtual and you will miss touch and assists but you’re called to this and good at this. Keep going.
You find your people. You teach when the kids nap. You share your heart and practice metta.
It won’t be glamorous and it will never be easy. Your mentor will tell you this:
“Don’t think about the end goal. Think of how you want to feel when you get there”
And in my guest room, teaching yoga, connecting with strangers who now feel like family, I am living my dream.
You’ll spend more time outside in nature. You’ll teach your children about goslings and start to be able to identify all kinds of birds. Their development in emotion, human experience and play will always be a part of them. The Covid generation.
Here’s the thing though.
Time will not stop. Keep pursuing things that light your soul on fire. Get creative. Adapt. Take each moment as it presents itself. Lean into being uncomfortable because you weren’t just meant for this—you’ve been practicing this. Each time you step onto your mat, you were working to counter this. Strength sometimes comes in the form of a whisper and I hope you listen.
You can do hard things.
You are enough.
You are right where you need to be.
About Sarah Shiplett
I vow to always be authentic, moving from that beautiful place of love. I invite you to come as you are and take what you need from the practice. Yoga requires no modifiers, it simply asks that you show up. I believe yoga should have no roadblocks and that includes price. I have a free series as well as membership to yoga and meditations classes uploaded weekly. Please visit www.sarahshiplettyoga.com and join our growing community.
From my heart directly to yours,
Namaste
Sarah ॐ
MA E-RYT 200, YACEP, CPYT
Sarah Shiplett
@sarahshiplettyoga
Ring: 972.571.1396
ॐ
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Dear Nicole,
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I have been working from home since March 17. I do not have a desk presay, so I've been working from an oversized chair and a lap desk. It's not great. My mental health ebbs and flows. I have anxiety around lunch time nearly everyday. I think it's tied to Governor Cuomo's press briefs, or that I have somehow not been productive enough in the morning. I remind myself that this is not a normal time and it's ok to not be ok 100% of time. Sound baths with Sara Auster on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays are such a treat and have helped immensely and feel like such a treat.
...
Hoping you and yours are well,
Megan Benson
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Being home for the past 2 months has definitely had its ups and downs. What started off as feeling fearful turned into something completely opposite. Being home gave me time... time with my husband and son... time to see special milestones in my sons life and time to really connect with my husband without the busyness of everyday life. In the beginning when I felt fearful, I was constantly listening to the media and letting that overpower me, instilling me with fear. As time went on, I decided to turn the TV off, and I began to turn to prayer, God, meditation, essential oils, chakra healing, eating healthier, and my Mala. My Mala has been my shield through all of this, to the point where my son will hold onto it and take deep breaths all on his own. With my Mala as my strength, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and participate in virtual essential oil conferences, connecting with new people around the world, educating myself more on the benefits of the oils as it has always been an interest of mine... I was always just too “busy”. Now, I have been given time, this precious time that I don’t know when I’ll ever get again; and so I am embracing every moment with my son, my husband, connecting more with my parents, making more time for myself, planting seeds to grow my own garden, asking God for world peace and harmony, finding my passion with essential oils and educating others about it.... and with all of this embracing comes my Mala beads. I wear them very proudly around my neck and wrists, my Mala necklace guides me on my journey through life, it calms me when I am overwhelmed, it reminds me to choose positive vibrations and prayer over fear, and it is a reminder of the peace one can feel and emit to the universe through taking 108 breaths in my meditation. If we can all, as a society, find strength within each other to have hope and faith... if we can all learn from this experience and become more harmonious human beings... if we can continue to emit positive vibrations and energy into the universe... then we can all come out of this stronger, enlightened, and kinder. We can achieve peace. As we say in our home each night... may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be free from suffering...
Namaste.
-Brooke W.
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Both my wife and I are doctors. I work at a medium sized rural hospital. We are extremely appreciative that our government took the health crisis seriously and started enforcing social distancing early while the prevalence of COVID was still low, and thankfully it still remains that way in our region. Like most hospitals we were worried that our supply of protective equipment would be inadequate for our needs and the first few weeks were nerve-wracking, but we prepared as best we could. Thankfully the wave we were anticipating never hit although we know that could change if people stop taking precautions.
Outside of work, life has been an adjustment but we are managing. Everyone is healthy and at least I'm still working. We have three kids, the older two who are now zoom schooling, and the younger one who wants to do whatever his older siblings are doing. The kids miss their friends and their grandparents immensely. I miss having help around the house and the opportunity to be alone with my wife. We both worry about what this will do to the family owned shops and restaurants in our small town.
I know we will get through this. I appreciate your help in being able to brighten my wife's birthday in these trying times.
Noah
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Life as I knew it completely halted the day the restaurants shut down on March 13. I worked as a contract waitress and various locations, depending on where I was needed. Nearly all of my friends worked for the same company as I did. At first it felt surreal. We sat around talking about what was happening, what was going to happen, what we could do, and wondered if we would all lose our homes. Two of us relied on our incomes to help our families. We are not married and most of our immediate family members lived out of state. It was pure panic for about two weeks. Thank goodness for unemployment, and for the help the government provided! As time has gone on, we have all adapted and learned to find work elsewhere. One thing is for sure--Everyone I knew took a long, hard look at the life they had been living out of habit. Tiny Devotions words ring truer and truer every day through this struggle. We should all live less by habit, and more with intention. Perhaps many of us needed this wake up call! Thank you for your kind words and support, Nicole.
Wishing you wellness,
Stefanie
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Thank you for checking in with us, Nicole! Last year around October I began working for a pharmaceutical company. When Covid-19 hit, things got out of control! Everyone on our team has been working 12 hour days. It is crazy because we feel that half of the world is out of work while the other half is working more than ever. Many of us just want to get home to our families and not fear for our lives. We are grateful to you and your company for giving us an outlet to express ourselves.
P.S. yes the relationship struggles are real. Neither of us are able to pinpoint why, but there is some serious questions being brought to light. I wonder if it is just the stress? It will be nice to see if this is true for others. Hope you are staying well!
Connie
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Dear Tiny Devotions,
Your email brought light to my day. I felt a weight lift when suddenly I had this opportunity to be heard. Thank you.
I work in real estate in Oregon. Our small community is very scared. Everyone barely leaves their home. We feel the media heavily affected the choices of the people here. Our town is only about 4,000 people big and we are all used to keeping in touch with each other.
Now we do not know what to do! I feel lucky that my work has not been affected, because I know many others has. It is very important to my family to help our community any way we can.
My Strength Mala Necklace has been near and dear to me for years. Now more than ever, I feel a connection to it and to your company. Thank you for being there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kindly,
Bonnie Turner
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Hello Nicole,
Thank you for checking in with us. Your work is gorgeous!! We might be at the end of this soon. Yes? I am never sure anymore!
My husband and I began this together. He works at Costco and I work in manufacturing. My office completely closed down so I have been working from home for nearly two months now. I still can't believe it. I always loved my office environment. It gave me a sense of structure and purpose. The longer I am away, the less human I feel. I am not sure if anyone else feels that way but I sure do!
Believe it or not, we are now talking about divorce. Never in a million years would I have believed this could happen. We have been married 11 years and never once talked about separation. On top of everything else, sometimes it feels like too much.
On a positive note. I have not known anyone to contract the disease, and I feel lucky that all my immediate family is in good health. I think of those that may be at higher risk every day and send prayers and light their way. We owe so much gratitude to the health care workers and to first responders. May we all get through this quickly and safely, and may it never EVER happen again!
Thank you Nicole. Be well.
Love,
Sandy
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New submissions will be updated here as they come in. Thank you so much to everyone that let us be a part of their journey. We are all in this together.
Love + light,
Nicole
