The Call of Challenging Times: An Interview with Gregg Levoy
Gregg Levoy – author and speaker
As tough as this year has been, there can be many insights we may receive from experiencing a year-long pandemic. What can we glean from this experience and how can we use it for growth?
With the pandemic, many people are finding their resilience and others are tending to their suffering with excessive tv, food, or alcohol. Sometimes it’s a little of both. Quite often, we are forced into heroism, evolution, and self-reflection by our own suffering.
With not being able to participate in many of our normal activities, we have had more time on our hands. This can lead to procrastination and laziness, but it also affords us the space to ask if we want to go back to some of our old norms. This has been a time to reassess – do I want to return to my old profession? Do I want to keep my social calendar so full? Some people are enjoying a more leisurely existence and want to hold on to a more balanced lifestyle. We may find we want to keep up activities like walking, being out in nature, reading, and meditating.
As we have the time to look at our lives from a deeper perspective, we can ask what is my purpose and which direction do I want to go with my life? Do I want to stay in a contemplative state or go back to my busy normal?
An interesting aspect of the pandemic is that we have become used to the idea of others being dangerous to us – don’t hug them, don’t let them breathe on you, keep your distance from them. This is counter to the social nature of being human. At the same time, we’ve come together to care for and protect each other, those we don’t even know, by keeping our distance and wearing a mask. These acts are not just self protection, but protecting our community. There’s a dichotomy in being afraid of others and protecting them at the same time.
For shy people and introverts, this time has been a relief because we can literally hide behind our mask and not have to interact with others. For others it’s been a time of loneliness and isolation. When we get back to some sense of normal, it will be important for us to remember how hungry we were for connection and touch and to appreciate little pleasures like seeing someone’s smile, hugging, being in a crowded room, sharing a meal in a restaurant, and visiting a friend at their home. What a wonderful time to realize that more is not always better – more stuff, more work, more social media accolades, etc. This is an opportune time for us to make a commitment to the important things in life like spending time with those we love.
Vaccines are the perfect example of introducing chaos (into the body) in order to strengthen it for an improved outcome. The suffering, grief, loss, and shock of the last year is part of the chaos that can help us evolve, grow, and strengthen going forward. It’s out of challenging times that we emerge as the hero that we are meant to be.
What did I learn throughout this past year? What emerged from me? Where are my priorities? What can I take forward? What do I want my new normal to look like? There’s power in declaring and claiming what we want and stating our goals. There will be a chance to do that in the upcoming webinar.
Gregg Levoy will be a guest speaker on Sunday March 14 at 9am and 11am (ET)
