As my world shrinks in size, travel off limits and adventures curtailed, I challenge myself to make my world richer than it has ever been before.

The system wants to keep us dissidents, divergents and independent thinkers on the margins of society, cut off from the world that we, unbeknownst to them, have already decided to detangle ourselves from. We’re not interested in what they have to offer any more, we see through the showy sales tactics and are choosing another way to live.

It is a path less trodden, but it is wild and ferocious in its beauty.

We find ourselves at a point, as restrictions tighten for those of us who have consciously chosen not to inject ourselves with pharmaceuticals we deem to be harmful to our health, where we can choose to stand or we can choose to fold.

By standing firm on our foundations, forged in the fire of our values, we can shine more brightly than we ever have before – a powerful form of resistance that is easily overlooked.

In the light the darkness has nowhere to hide

This is our challenge: to make our worlds brighter, inside and out, through deep appreciation, joy and love, whatever the circumstances.

They don’t want us to hug, touch and kiss. I’m going to embrace everyone. They don’t want us to travel. I’m going to explore the world more than ever before. They don’t want us to thrive. I’m going to godamn flourish.

I’m rushing headfirst into pleasure.

The truth is, no one can take anything away from inside of us, even though they try to take it away on the outside.

The world is so undeniably beautiful, yet when we only focus on the horrors and injustices we neglect the utter wonders that are so readily available for us to enjoy. It’s all part of the system. They want us to focus on the things we’re losing. This way, the resentment and anger at the injustice builds up, altering our frequency to one of lack and fear.

This isn’t the way to go. Don’t get sucked into the trap of comparison and resentment at what we’re missing out on, what we can no longer do (through choice, remember, always through choice).

Be at peace with your choices

Even our emotions are a choice. We can choose to feel trapped, fearful, limited and poor. Or we can choose to feel rich.

I wallowed in a place of darkness for the majority of last year, seething in anger at the intolerability and injustice of the situation, and it’s taken me time, so much time, to gradually climb up and out.

What I’ve learned is this: as our worlds get smaller, we can choose to make them richer. It’s always a choice.

This isn’t gratitude, forced from a place of “well I should be grateful for..”. This is pure appreciation from a place of contentment within. What we have, right now, is more than enough, it is everything.

I challenge you to notice how vibrant your world is, to recognise the Divine within the minuate and acknowledge the richness of your existence.

This is the essential challenge of spirituality. It’s not to be found on a mountain, in an ashram or on a retreat, blissed out in peace and serenity. It’s right here, in the everydayness of life. We only need to open our eyes to the abundance that exists within our worlds, even when those worlds are seemingly ‘shrinking’ before our very eyes because of what we are allowed or not allowed to do.

Our worlds are not shrinking. Circumstances are merely magnifying the riches that we’ve sofar missed.

The simplest of pleasures

As they try to tighten the noose on our pursuit of pleasures, I challenge you to find the richness within your world and revel in it. Our appreciation and love for the small joys that we might have previously overlooked, can never be stolen from us.

Now is the time to remember.

For me, it’s such simple things. The shadows of leaves in the early morning light, dancing on a wall. The aroma of lavender and sweet orange oils that I add to my bath. The shy smile of a stranger. The weight and softness of my duvet. The sounds of the garden; wind, birdsong and rustling. The vastness of the starry night sky on a crisp, cold night.

None of these things have been taken away from me. My world is so rich in its delights, so detailed in its divinity, I’ve just been too distracted by the fear and anger to notice.

In distress we hardly notice a thing. Anger blinds us to beauty, fear steals joy away and resentment casts shadows on all that is good.

So, don’t focus on the things that feel lost and stolen away, focus on what’s left, what’s always been there waiting for you to notice.