15 Sep Okay, Bring on the Crisis

Somehow in this world of crisis, all people want to talk about is crisis. We are all forever transformed as a result of the crisis we have gone through. I am sharing this with you because nobody would intentionally welcome a crisis in their lives. Nobody would intentionally say “Okay, bring on the crisis.” But I have to tell you there is such a gift available to all of us right now, through the pandemic, with everything we are going through in the world . . . it’s such a blessing. In the welcoming of a crisis, it puts you in the redefinition of yourself.

I like who I am now, especially after how life reduced me to my knees. I like this version of me. As I get older, I appreciate this version of being Panache Desai more and more. And there is an amazing freedom that comes along with having navigated my way through a crisis. Things aren’t such a big deal anymore. Having lived through a hurricane, and a child who almost died, and helping my wife with her health issues, I realize we are so blessed to have gone through these things. 

A crisis opens up a depth of empathy and compassion within us that we never would have had before. Is it hard? Yes, it’s hard, and you are not alone. Can it be challenging? Absolutely, it can  be very challenging. It challenges your world view, it challenges your identity, it helps you realize who your friends are and what’s important. It helps you not waste your time. There are so many amazing blessings that crisis brings into your life. 

But, I can tell you the most important gift a crisis can give you is humility. 

The pandemic affected everybody equally. It didn’t matter what you have, or what you did for a living. You had to be with yourself and with your family. You had to come to terms with the choices you had made consciously or unconsciously. Planet Earth got a break, nature got a reprieve. Suddenly, everything in our lives became more tangible and more real. 

What an amazing time it’s been, to go through this crisis, to be in community, to be held in a loving space and to be able to find peace in the midst of it all. 

Resting in the awareness of your breath, transforms your life into a living meditation.