I am sharing with you my amazing sister Julie Love's email written to her family on Sunday March 15th, 2020 after realizing she is on an extended March break -like so many others. (Julie-- kind and generous, elementary school teacher, mom to two sweet little boys, U-Fit aficionado, general merry maker). I've included as well, several responses from family members--all shared with permission.
"It is a funny thing how the natural world works. I can’t help but think that there are many bigger lessons that Mother Earth has in store for us in the midst of this pandemic. We have been faced with an unprecedented situation that we have the power to navigate with grace and compassion for those around us who are most vulnerable and to ease the burden on those who will be on the front lines.
We are also being faced with exactly what the earth has been begging us to do.
Slow down, consume less, and pause for the greater good.
This is not easy to do when we have been endlessly programmed to crave busyness and stimulation. We honor exhaustion and burn out instead of quiet and reflection.
I am no different. As a person with anxiety, the art of distraction is a coping mechanism that I use on the regular and being faced with the necessity to step back from the “busy” makes it hard for me to take a deep breath.
But the fact is, that I can take that breath, and I can try to reframe this as an opportunity to embrace a slower pace and do some of the things that the earth has been quietly begging for, and is now screaming for us to do.
Pause...
Over the next while I will try to use this as an opportunity to connect with some of the things that I haven’t had time to do. I will paint, I will craft, I will organize and go through storage, I will play endless uno with a five year old, I will share morning tea with two sweet boys and a husband who loves me, I will walk my dog in the woods, I will talk on the phone with friends and family, I will take baths and I will breathe.
Don’t get me wrong, my kids will also watch too much tv and I will scroll too much and I will try not to go stir crazy but I will try to achieve a better balance as we come together (figuratively of course) for the greater good and the grand scheme and hopefully come out of this with a few big lessons learned."
Our mother, endless carer that she is, is also a retired nurse, artisan extraordinaire, shore-picker, birder, baker and I want to say candlestick maker but that would be my wonderful tinkering dad who re-purposes mason jars and found objects into oil lamps, electric lamps, etc! Here is her always practical and always caring response to Julie:
"such a positive take on what has been unfolding...I'm also making crafting plans-well really, cleaning plans first then crafting! anyone need anything e.g. fabric, wool, buttons etc. let me know and I can do up a care package...ma"
And such a generous response to her kids since it was written in the painful awareness that she and my dad will be unable to spend time with their many nearby children and grandchildren for a while due to her underlying lung condition.
My husband Paul's response from his self isolation due to recent (a winter's worth) of travel to the US. Thankfully he is well and simply following instructions. Therefore, besides working from home, he is catching up on his course materials for his int'l meditation teacher training program. His hard won learning sounds evident to me in his kind hearted words:
"Thank you Julie.
Thank you for your wisdom, your awareness, and your compassion.
This is indeed a time of unease and shared suffering. A great many people around the world are waking up to the very same themes you so gracefully touched on. The hope would be that many of those same people will take this forced pause as a time for reflection and for a reimagining of what we deem essential for this life. Reawakening to the simple pleasures of solitude, quiet times with family and friends, and staying closer to the earth.
Sometimes it takes a crisis or emergency to awaken the wisdom in the collective culture, may this event serve as that awakening...
Take care,
Paul"
And my response to Julie:
"Dear Jules, (et al)
These are some beautiful truth-filled guiding words you have written! So heartfelt! Well done sweet sister who has been dealing with a lot recently.
So many of us move on the propellant of anxious energy without realizing that when we slow down intentionally and take pause we can make peace with those anxious feelings and recognize them for what they are.
Mindfully we can navigate even our most difficult hours, days and weeks. And yet I know well that this isn't easy. And so I practice, practice, practice breathing slowly, deeply and I offer those slow, deep breaths to all who are anxious and afraid.
(And then I phone my mom and sister's when I need a check in!)
Yours is a call to caring. Caring for self, for each other, for Earth. All of which, as you said so eloquently, have been screaming out to us to slow down and pay better attention and act with caring.
Clara said to me that all of the shut downs feel scary and she is right. It is incredibly unsettling to have the rug pulled out from under your feet and so quickly. But truth be told the rug we were collectively standing on disintegrated many years ago. Only unsustainable economics kept the illusion up that the rug was still there.
I explained to her that we all have bought into a belief system that we together believed with such intensity, such fervour that, like the emperor's new clothes, we kept up the charade that the systems and institutions were magnificent still, that they weren't in free fall when they were. For years, decades, if ever they weren't.
And even when many of us saw that the emperor was naked and asking still for our adulation and devotion (in exhausting, underpaid, understaffed workplaces) the gov'ts refused to see this.
And so I said to her that this seeming collapse is simply giving us the space to see that a new way forward is possible. And the new way must, must, must be a way of togetherness and caring for all. Esp the most vulnerable.
And that in truth, the natural world is where we should find our solace. There is still a blue sky above us and forests with trees and oceans to turn to and wildlife to watch for inspiration on how to live. These are the systems we need to give our energies towards supporting and when we do the return on our investments will be staggering.
But we must show caring! So like sweet and charming little J would say "We've got this!" The world is full of loving, generous, kind- hearted people!
Craft on! And let's remind each other that "This too shall pass" and before we all know it we will be sharing each other's company again for a taco night at the lovely Love's house!
XOXOXOXO
Love to all,
Be well,
Jill"
These emails between people in my own family are shared as a small example of the wisdom and caring demonstrated by so many people on PEI and around the world during this incredibly difficult time.
My Seattle sister (Janice) and I spoke just last week of the very thing Julie shared. She too sees this time as a time for learning difficult lessons, for reconnecting with self and Earth and believes that we can shape this space into a powerful new way forward.
And yet, I still see many who question the drastic measures being put in place and I want to say to them that critical analysis is always important in life but this situation is very serious. We must be willing, despite our desire for individual liberties and our deep need for personal connection, to follow the best advice of those trying to protect the most vulnerable. Not acknowledging what is happening is really not an option and quite possibly could seriously harm someone.
SO please take good care of self and other. And as much as possible let this be a time of reflection and renewal. Step outside and look for signs of Spring and share them with loved ones who might need a morale boost. Connecting our hearts to the pulsing rhythms of Spring reminds us to trust in the cycles of birth, death and rebirth as they reveal themselves to us in the natural world. This pandemic is a devastating reminder that we truly all are one.
Wishing you and yours wellness.
In warmth,
Jill
Here are the links to three very short (4-7 minutes each) calming meditations that you may find of benefit. They are very simple to incorporate into your day and are very helpful for reducing overwhelm.
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