Lost in a Paradise

If there's one thing that this Pandemic has taught us, it is to embrace the stillness. To be present.

Life teaches us about what is essential versus what is luxury or leisure.

Life teaches us to embrace individual uniqueness and societal differences.

Life teaches us to be alone, lost, and regain ourselves.

What would happen if you got stuck on an Island. How would you imagine living?

There are no convenience stores, cellular phone signals, or internet.

You only have basic survival needs and equipment; tents, hammocks, cooking utensils, and just enough food good for two days.

I dared! I trekked a muddy road less traveled back in 2015. And my destination was the Island Province of Guimaras in the Philippines.

In just two days, I enjoyed the serenity of the place away from the people. The water was clear, and I jumped off a cliff. That was a safe jump rather than a risky dive I never dared. And I survived!

Now I'm living in the present. I am thinking about the time in our lives when we go on an adventure of a lifetime. There's no attachment to things and people. And the absence of one of the most essential things today -- getting online and social media.

Today, during this time of Pandemic and social isolation, our connection to the online world is our most important survival tool. We go online for news updates which sometimes can be toxic and causes sadness, loneliness, and grief. If there's no internet and social media in the present time, how would we live everyday life?

Our survival tool in the new best normal is connecting to the online world. For most of us, being offline is not alive since, nowadays, everybody seems to go digital, going online to communicate with coworkers, families, friends, and special loved ones.

I learned to be detached and offline, even for a short while. To go on social media detox. Honestly, I have lived in that present moment, living in stillness. That adventure taught me a lesson about basic survival skills and survival when the most essential thing is out of reach even for a while.

The next Pandemic may come in our time, and how we prepare for the worst is essential for survival.

To be stuck in an Island Paradise is just one learning experience that I have benefited from in the present times and the next crisis.

And today, we can always learn not to just survive. But, just be alive.

© 2020 Del Cusay

Now Rowing Forward

We can't wait to move on. We've been stuck for some time, and we want to move forward and be able to live our life's next chapter. A life where mystery meets uncertainty. A life of ups and downs -- our current reality.

Today, I've seen how we go a few steps backward. When the Pandemic struck, we froze, could hardly move, and went on to reminisce about our past life. We remember the good old times and learn from the bad times. We have time-traveled, and it just feels so good.

Rowing on a small boat from my last year's retreat on a beach was one of the most solemn and soulful experiences ever. That gave me a lot of realization about how I lived my life. That was a preview of how to live and survive in silence, without a crowd, and just a moment of detachment and social isolation.

As I looked at the horizon from afar, where the blue skies meet the sea, indeed sky is the limit regarding our life's desires and realizations. There are a lot of opportunities and foresight waiting for us to be discovered in total silence.

As I walked closer to the shore, the horizon seemed endless, even when I reached the deepest sea. When a big wave is coming to hit me, I may either swim as fast as I can back near the shore or just go with the flow as calmly as I can.

Life's like that. When something big hits us, like an overwhelming challenge or adversity, we can choose how to react; we panic or stay calm and focused on taking the best action and not get drowned.

Fast forward to today, a year after, comes the Pandemic. I remember how I enjoyed the silence and solemnity of a place where I said I could survive in that environment for a long time.

How many of us could live without a noisy and distracted world? How many of us can enjoy being detached from worldly possessions and relationships? How many of us can survive alone, having just enough and with no luxuries but only a natural world of purity and simplicity?

Today, as people and communities have started to mobilize again after isolation, we have learned a harsh lesson and a deeper awareness of our being. That we can indeed live alone for some time and depend on ourselves for our own happiness. That we are responsible and in control of our life -- our destiny.

Life has brought us to a different era and future we never imagined. This time, we are not only moving on or moving forward. We are now rowing along in the direction of our will, our life purpose. We are the captain and in control of our destiny. The director of our own reality.

© 2020 Del Cusay

Living Our Best Normal

We want to live our best life. That is not just an aspiration but a realization of our life purpose. Our goals and dreams are what fuel our being towards not just success but also fulfillment -- our heart's desire.

In these times, we are now one world and one humanity, which used to be divided by the color of our skin, the amount of money in our wallet or in a bank, divided by religious affiliation and social status.

Today, we feel the oneness of humanity. That we are united through a shared experience. We are all vulnerable to the global threat to human health;  either we survive or continue to suffer -- we're all in this together.

We are slowly adapting to a 'new normal,' which is an initiation of how much we have learned about survival skills and the test of our life's top priorities.

In the 'new normal,' people may realize that money may not save a life at some point. That money isn't our ultimate purpose of living. And the health we sacrificed for cash will be gone when we lose the battle. 

Living in the city would start to lose the appeal, and people will see the value of life in the rural area-- in the countryside.

There is so much learning the pandemic taught us. People in the metropolitan now see the natural world uncovered to them. The surrounding mountains from afar, the chirping of the birds, and the clear blue skies used to be enjoyed in rural areas. Still, nature showed a glimpse of the natural environment people in rural areas want while in isolation.

People will now invest more in health and wellness rather than living in a highly stressful environment to gain wealth. Sustainable living in a safe and peaceful rural area is what can give us the peace of mind that we all need. If there's a shift to this mindset, people will live healthier and livelier.

Between life in the city and in a rural area, the 'new normal' would point the arrow to the less crowded place where one can breathe fresher air and enjoy a fantastic view of the natural environment free from pollution.

And hearing from someone I highly respect, Master Del Pe, a Modern Sage and an International Life Mentor, inspired people about living not just the 'new normal' but living our 'new best normal' because we put the highest priority on health and wellness to survive and live longer, we strive to live with our best self no matter the challenges and threat that will arise on years to come.

To live our most extraordinary life and our 'new best normal' is beyond living not just a safe and secure life but a sustainable life we all deserve. 

© 2020 Del Cusay