Life is change and change is challenging. Yet without change nothing new could ever occur.As we follow along our own unfolding path, we come to various twists and turns. Sometimes what feel like roadblocks make it seem close to impossible to keep moving forward.

Yet move forward we must. We are in a river and the river flows in one direction.

As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “You cannot step into the same river twice, for other waters are continually flowing on.” The water and all living things within the river are in a state of change. People aren’t the same from one day to the next, and daily life is different with each new dawn.

Each of us must reinvent ourselves every time we come to a personal crisis, which is a normal event that occurs in every life. A crisis can be defined as a time of intense difficulty or trouble, or a time when a difficult or important decision must be made. In addition to whatever we as individuals are experiencing right now, due to the pandemic people all over the world are in a collective crisis. We are being called on to reinvent our lives in one form or another.

But a crisis is also a turning point and an opportunity for growth.

We need to be gentle with ourselves now, more than ever. Take time to re-evaluate what you need to do and what you can let be.

Think less, do less, be more. Take time to breathe, to write, to get into nature. I have decided to reduce stress and pressure. Although I live in a big city, I get to the park whenever possible—every day if I can.

In Tibetan Buddhism there is a practice that can help you clear your thoughts and gain insights into whatever you are facing. It is simple to do and requires no training. It’s called sky gazing. When you gaze at the open sky you can rest in what is called the natural state, the state that is always available to you, for it is the ground of your being.

• If you can, find a place to sit outside and simply sit with a relatively straight back and take a few breaths. Tilt your head slightly upward and gaze at the sky for a few minutes. Of course don’t look directly at the sun and remember to blink! After a short time, you may close your eyes and you will probably find that your superficial thoughts have dispersed and that you develop a greater sense of calm.In this state, you may be able to access deeper levels of mind.

If you can’t get outside, you can look through a window.

“But beyond the mind, beyond our thoughts, there is something we call the ‘nature of the mind,’ the mind’s true condition, which is beyond all limits.”—Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State