A thoughtful letter from COVID

Cari3
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

A thoughtful letter from COVID

We can wail, gnash out teeth and get into panic mode... and that wouldn't help do anything but lower your own immune system.  Maybe this is a time to Rest, Re-enrgize and reflect.  I thought this was thought-provoking and wanted to share it with my fellow hosts during this difficult time:

 

The Gift
*********
An Imagined Letter from Covid-19 to Humans
from Kristin Flyntz
*********
Stop. Just stop.
It is no longer a request. It is a mandate.
We will help you.
We will bring the supersonic, high speed merry-go-round to a halt
We will stop
the planes
the trains
the schools
the malls
the meetings
the frenetic, furied rush of illusions and “obligations” that keep you from hearing our
single and shared beating heart,
the way we breathe together, in unison.
Our obligation is to each other,
As it has always been, even if, even though, you have forgotten.
We will interrupt this broadcast, the endless cacophonous broadcast of divisions and distractions,
to bring you this long-breaking news:
We are not well.
None of us; all of us are suffering.
Last year, the firestorms that scorched the lungs of the earth
did not give you pause.
Nor the typhoons in Africa,China, Japan.
Nor the fevered climates in Japan and India.
You have not been listening.
It is hard to listen when you are so busy all the time, hustling to uphold the comforts and conveniences that scaffold your lives.
But the foundation is giving way,
buckling under the weight of your needs and desires.
We will help you.
We will bring the firestorms to your body
We will bring the fever to your body
We will bring the burning, searing, and flooding to your lungs
that you might hear:
We are not well.
Despite what you might think or feel, we are not the enemy.
We are Messenger. We are Ally. We are a balancing force.
We are asking you:
To stop, to be still, to listen;
To move beyond your individual concerns and consider the concerns of all;
To be with your ignorance, to find your humility, to relinquish your thinking minds and travel deep into the mind of the heart;
To look up into the sky, streaked with fewer planes, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, smoky, smoggy, rainy? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy?
To look at a tree, and see it, to notice its condition: how does its health contribute to the health of the sky, to the air you need to be healthy?
To visit a river, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, clean, murky, polluted? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy? How does its health contribute to the health of the tree, who contributes to the health of the sky, so that you may also be healthy?
Many are afraid now.
Do not demonize your fear, and also, do not let it rule you. Instead, let it speak to you—in your stillness,
listen for its wisdom.
What might it be telling you about what is at work, at issue, at risk, beyond the threats of personal inconvenience and illness?
As the health of a tree, a river, the sky tells you about quality of your own health, what might the quality of your health tell you about the health of the rivers, the trees, the sky, and all of us who share this planet with you?
Stop.
Notice if you are resisting.
Notice what you are resisting.
Ask why.
Stop. Just stop.
Be still.
Listen.
Ask us what we might teach you about illness and healing, about what might be required so that all may be well.
We will help you, if you listen.

5 Replies 5
Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

That's very much to the point of what life is about @Cari3 
How's your garden and beautiful ABB ticking on over there in the USA?

 

Keep smiling and the world smiles with one

 

There are many positives that will come out of what's going on.

Hello dear Helen.... airbnb has ground to a halt... but my garden makes me smile every day.  And the small and ordinary things people are doing to reset inspire me.  How are you doing, dear heart? 

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

I'm doing well @Cari3 , so is my wee garden, currently have two young Monarch butterfly caterpillars nibbling away and sleeping in the Autumn sun, others have nested in the lavender out of eyesight -  it's still hitting 32 degrees celsius in the sheltered spots around my home.

 

Lots of people out and about walking, trying to get on with normal lives & talking fed up with the forced locked down we are in, serious concerns about the state of economy and general well being here.

 

Flowers are growing well, as are my spring onions that grew from shoots from one of my guests last year.

 

 

 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Cari3  Thank you for sharing this. This will definitely be a "reset" time for many- a time to examine and ponder and institute lifestyle changes going forward. Since people can't congregate, more people are now going for walks and hikes and bike rides, so they don't go stir crazy, get some exercise and fresh air. They are going to be noticing things they were too busy to notice before, and families who are constantly running here and there, to work, to school, to music and dance lessons, to the gym, etc. and may have not had a sit down dinner together for awhile are going to be spending more time with each other. This may lead to conflicts, with everyone having to get along, and sadly, an uptick in domestic violence, but for the most part, I think it will prove to be a positive thing.

Sarah, my hope is that when the new normal (whatever that is and whatever it looks like) arrives, the positive resets outweigh the negative upticks.  Stay safe C