Many of us have a lot to lose due to the Covid-19 social-distancing recommendations and laws.

We may lose income, jobs and some will lose their businesses.

But we won’t lose everything. And we won’t lose what’s important.

We will still have our family and friends, most of our possessions and food and shelter.

We will still have our minds and bodies, our skills, knowledge and all of our abilities.

This is everything we need to rebuild, from wherever we have been taken.

It is helpful, I believe, to count our blessings, to deepen our gratitude for everything that we have on our side.

The dental industry is luckier than some. It is an essential service. We get to keep our doors open (should we choose), albeit at reduced capacity. This is a substantial benefit given the impact of social-distancing on all the industries that have had to close their doors completely.

To discover how people much wiser than myself are processing the Covid-19 challenge, I listened to Eckhart Tolle’s message. He spoke of the importance of building your house on a strong foundation of rock so when the storms come, your house will remain standing. Tolle said that you are the house and your foundations of rock are your inner, deeper awareness of what is.

I consider that your foundations are also your beliefs around adversity. And there are basically two types of beliefs.  

Unhelpful beliefs such as “This is wrong”, “This will destroy me”, “This is unjust” is building your house on sand and when the storm hits, your house collapses.

Helpful beliefs such as “I am resilient”, “Humankind has survived worse storms and it will survive this” and “It is through facing adversity that I grow” will ensure you are building your house on rock and that you stand strong through whatever storm comes your way.

Focusing on, and building your helpful beliefs, what you can be immensely grateful for and faith in your own resilience is what can shift a person from panic to control, from fear to calm.

It is understandable to resist the current challenging situation. It seems frightening, unfair and out of control. However, it is our acceptance of what is going on that will help us. A mind consumed in resistance has difficulty seeing the benefits and the opportunities that lie within this situation. The feelings generated from resistance are anger, victimhood, fear, stubbornness and loss of hope.

Acceptance of the negative, however, allows us to feel calm, peaceful and in control. It is from a space or attitude of acceptance that we can more readily see solutions and feel hopeful for the future.

I will leave you with an excerpt from a longer Tony Robbins’ message.

“It’s time to become conscious of your power and remind yourself and all those around you the human race is resilient, flexible, and strong beyond imagination. Lead, don’t follow. Discover ways to innovate, to create and to give and support others who may not see past the winter. Lead with the truth of our essence, that faith and certainty, our natural birthright and our abilities, can be awoken. This ability can be activated, so live the truth today around everyone you’re around. Then we can solve any problem we face. The human race always has, and it always will.”