Happy Love Days!
Looking at the calendar gives us a chance to celebrate love not once, but twice this week—Valentine’s Day on Friday, February 14th, and the very unofficial Galentine’s Day on February 13th ( that’s right, a day for you to celebrate your love for all of your gal pals!) . And with all of the worry and uncertainty of the current coronavirus situation in Taiwan, there seems no better time to focus on letting love shine over fear.
I’ve heard countless times how love and fear are the two primary emotions that we use for our decisions. Choosing from fear means that we pull away from what we want, distancing ourselves from others and our own selves in an attempt to protect from discomfort and pain. Living from love, on the other hand, means being brave enough to open to vulnerability and connection while showing compassion for ourselves and others.
How might choosing love over fear look during this time?
Some ideas:
Taking good care of our health as an act of kindness and appreciation for ourselves, rather than letting paranoia worry ourselves sick.
Reaching out to share, listen and connect with others, instead of being alone with our own thoughts.
Being present and patient during a time when our plans are put on hold and our regular schedule may be interrupted, rather than wishing away time and wallowing in frustration.
Telling others how much they mean to us instead of obsessing about scenarios of loss or illness with the people we care most about.
Now is the perfect time to send you all some extra big love! The care and concern I’ve seen between people and felt towards myself these past weeks are things no sensationalist news articles are written on, but are the real stories and experiences we need to keep in mind more than ever.
May your week be filled with peace, health, and love— for your special someone, your family, your gal pals, and especially for yourself!
Keep moving!
xx,
Katie
讓我們來大大慶祝這些愛的節日！
看著這週的日曆，發現我們有兩次的機會來慶祝愛： 14 號的情人節與 13 號的閨密節（沒錯！你可以藉由這天慶祝你對閨密們的愛）。而面對最近新型冠狀病毒在台灣帶來所有的擔憂與不確定，似乎沒有比現在更好的時機點來練習「讓愛戰勝恐懼」。
我們很常使用「愛」與「恐懼」------兩個主要的情緒------來幫助我們做任何的決定。選擇「恐懼」表示，為了保護我們不受到不舒服與痛苦的攻擊，我們要遠離我們所想所要的、將自己抽離群體甚至抽離自己。反之，由愛而生活，則表示勇敢到能夠帶著開放的心面對脆弱與情感連結，同時對自己與他人保有惻隱之心。
在現在的情況下，「選擇愛」的舉動看起來會是如何呢？
以下有一些想法：
與其老是懷疑自己是否生病了，不如好好照顧自己的身體，這是一項對自己的善行與表示感恩的行動。
與其在家胡思亂想，不如主動分享自己的感受、聽聽別人的想法、並多與他人互動。
在我們的行程被打亂時，與其活在挫折中並期盼時間趕快過去，不如活在當下、保持耐心。
面對我們最在乎的人，與其不停地在腦中上演他們生病的各種假設，不如直接告訴他們：「他們對你有多重要。」
現在也是一個完美的機會來送給你「很多愛」！在過去幾周，這些關心與擔心雖然沒有任何一家報導提及，但這是在日常越來越常發生的，也是我和身旁的人的真實生活與感受。
希望你的一週能夠充滿平靜、健康與愛------為了你的他、你的家人、你的閨密、尤其是你自己！
繼續前進！
愛你的 Katie
( Anna Liang 譯 )