Staying Spiritually Serene During Covid-19

BY REV. DONNA DAVIS (YP i R)

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eople and stress caused by fi nance/lack of work can aff ect one’s spirituality. Families are asked to stay home. This raises electricity and food bills. The fi nancial stress of not being able to work puts the family in what can be seen as a fi nancial crisis. It is hard to rely on faith and hope. There are some who lean on their faith at these times and fi nd comfort and solace there. However, for the LGBTQ, they may have felt an abandonment from the God of their families. All of this stress can lead to depression and anxiety.

This is when LGBTQ people can stay as connected as possible via the online community. There are countless people posting positive memes on social media that can be helpful to gently pull you away from the worry. Connecting to positive people can help to lift your spirits, however, be careful not to start thinking that “all those people are well except for me”. People show you their best lives on social media. Reach out to your mentors and people who are more spiritually grounded. Speak to them from the heart. Lay bare your problems to friends who will listen. Sometimes, just voicing the issues can help you to feel better.

Watch movies that inspire you with the family or by yourself. Most of all, try to stay as centered in the knowledge that nothing lasts forever. All things pass. The stress of Covid feels as if it is never going to be over, however, we can always rebuild. Time is a wonderful healer. Meditation is also helpful for stress control. Find ways to be able to sit and take some deep breaths. This is known as Centering.

The best way of centering right now during the stress of fi nances and family is to start with gratitude. Start with something small. Like gratitude for my next heartbeat. Gratitude for my next breath. Gratitude for my hands and feet etc. Whenever you are grateful, stress lifts and the way becomes clear. Maybe you fi nd a program online for fi nancial help or the stimulus check shows up in the mail. When we are grateful, we fi nd more things to be grateful for. We start the chain in motion to receive more to be grateful for.

It is no one thing that helps to relieve stress. It is diff erent things mixed together for each person’s preference.

An interfaith minister and life coach, DONNA DAVIS utilizes her life experiences to empower other people overcome their struggles. Together with her wife, Norma, they manage Your Phoenix is Rising, a transformation coaching service focused on helping others rise from the darkness of despair and embrace their true Light Nature. Donna and Norma raised three biological children and served as legal guardians to several teenaged friends of their children during their time of need. Donna is a Registered Nurse at Parralion HCA Shared Services and Performance Director at Centers for Spiritual Living Ocala. She studied RN at Rasmussen College and psychology at Florida Atlantic University.