Before posting any new content in six months, I thought I should re-read my last blog dated March 15th. I was pretty surprised by what I had written. Primarily because the difference between what we THOUGHT was going to happen with COVID and what DID happen with COVID are so profoundly different.
I quote myself, “Okay. So. Corona virus. I taught what will likely be my last in person classes for a few weeks Friday and then, this morning…”
Wow. Could I have BEEN more wrong. A few weeks? I don’t think anyone could have imagined that we would be facing months and months of lockdown. Because honestly there didn’t need to be months and months of lockdown. If our country had had solid, reasonable and scientifically based leadership from the get-go, we would likely be in very different places right now. I know that is true for my little family. And I will say, it has been a more stressful six months than not. My over-worked cortisol injecting adrenals can testify to that. Hello! personal COVID-15!
There has been loss. Loss of employment, spiritual centers, touchstone places and people, economic security, food security, loss of health which leads to the horrifying loss of life. We all understand some death cannot be avoided, but I don’t think the death toll would be anywhere near the 243,000 it is in the United States alone.
We went from knowing things (well, sort of…) to literally knowing nothing in what seemed like twenty four hours. Schedule? Unknown. Income? Unknown. Health? Individually known but we can’t control others…WEAR A MASK! Future? TOTALLY unknown. Education? Unknown. Career paths? Unknown. The future of our country? Unknown, but better as I type this. Politics? Unknown. Plans? Sure! The virus would like you to please hold this hand grenade! As the weeks and months went on, it started to feel like living with the pandemic was a little like knowing The Matrix could exist. Every single thing we thought we had a handle on, we never actually had a handle on. Ever. At least it felt like that for me. And THAT is a very hard concept to understand/accept. Especially from the point of view of our pre-COVID life constructs. I have always thought I knew what “not knowing” was through my practice. But COVID has taught me that I really didn’t/don’t. Hence the cortisol.
And so is the lesson. Pre-COVID we all had little bubbles for ourselves. Made up of all kinds of labels. We thought we knew, the "known knowns” as a certain Republican SoD once said. The virus shined a big light on to the “unknowns”, which is apparently everything, save the love between people. So I’ll close with same paragraph as the first virus blog, because I think what we really need to do hasn’t changed since I wrote it six months ago.
“Take care of your little patches of grass. Take care of your families, check in on your elderly neighbors, shop for people who are self-quarantined, be kind, be considerate, be empathetic, be sensitive to those who are frightened, listen to people. If we stay calm and rational, we’ll all get through this just fine. Give the following prayer meditation a try, you’ll feel better and you are spreading the love.”
This link will take to you to that blog You can scroll down to the bottom for text of the metta meditation.
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