Today I am offering the thought that sometimes we go forward by going back. It is not a message that most people want to hear, especially those who are filled with the fire of life and whose hearts are bursting for the freedom to explore, discover and create the new. It's human nature to long for something "different" than what is in front of us. Right now though,
our collective well-being demands it. Covid-19 is not just "surging", it is on the cusp of volcanic eruption, nation-wide. Time to stop and take stock.
Most of the public health reading I have done this tumultuous week offers two encouraging points to counter the frenzy of frightening data: A vaccine holds hope for curtailing the virus next year and there is a window of time, right now, brief--depending on location, but nonetheless real--where we can put the brakes on the runaway train of contagion. This means we stop. We return to what we know slows the virus down. We go back. As we stop, we can honestly consider and apply what we have learned so far to protect people and to protect their livelihood. Everyone is tired of it, but in the entire history of humanity, a year of hardship is far from rare.
We were discussing this over the last few days here in California, and someone commented on the difference between the early spring lockdown and now. People earlier had sense of mission, of making a contribution to the good of the whole, of doing their part in a unified front; public health measures needed us, the individual and the group, to protect everyone and keep the hospitals and emergency medical teams from being overloaded. And the impact was real. But the divisions, conflicts and undermining elements, the economic toll, and time itself, wore that away. Today, I am encouraging you to take the path of return.
What is true in terms of our social/health behavior is also true on a spiritual level. Start with an exhale of resistance and resentment, of disappointment and blame, of discouragement and doubt. Inhale forgiveness, fresh air, fresh water for hungry, thirsty hearts-- yours, your neighbors, the world. Breathe prayer. Breathe peace. Breathe healing. Begin again.