June 6, 2021

For this Sunday, I am posting a quote by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami (1949-current). When I read it, I immediately thought of these times, although it was written in 2002, in his book Kafka on the Shore. Murakami speaks of an internal, metaphysical storm, but his passage to me seemed to perfectly fit this phase of the Pandemic. The storm is really both something that takes place inside us, and something that takes place all around us--a reminder that we are both a part of life, affected by the collective movement, and at the same time, we are the center. It's a worth Sunday meditation. (Susan Nettleton)

"...Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step...."

"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” Haruki Murakami