Peace, hope & trust for 2021

Happy holidays, Dear Readers! This post has been a long time coming, my apologies for that. The past four months have been—let’s just say A LOT—and I have struggled with writing on this blog.

Now comes the end of 2020, a year in which so much changed for humanity and our beloved planet. No matter where you were on Earth this year, most likely you felt the changes in myriad ways. We were changed from subatomic to cosmic levels—literally the atmosphere, the air we breathe, the way we live our lives, and the way we see one another all shifted during 2020.

Those we have lost this year have left Earth, but they live on through our memories.

This year we collectively became aware of the presence of death in a whole other dimension than previously. Never before in living history were so many humans taken from their lives on Earth at once as this year. The Covid-19 virus has taken over 1 million, 642,000 people from the Earth this year. Depending on who you talk to, which news outlets and social media sites you read, and what your personal belief system is, this information will affect you in various ways. Regardless, I think we can still agree that an enormous number of souls left the planet, and the sheer number of deaths is a force that humanity has been reckoning with in ways large and small this year.

Along with the natural grief and sorrow that death brings, I believe that having to face so much death this year has forced us to grow up somewhat about this subject, especially in western countries. I live in the United States, which has by far experienced the most infections and deaths from the virus. It seems that death has been a weird, taboo subject for Americans. We don’t like to talk or think about it, and in fact many people spend most of their lives doing everything possible to deny and avoid the subject altogether. Which is really quite strange, considering that it is surely going to happen to every single one of us at some point in our lives. Why then, is there such terrific fear around such a natural process? Everyone is born, lives for a limited amount of time, and then dies. Is it really such a frightening experience? We humans experience death all the time. We squash bugs, run over squirrels, cut down trees, and eat many millions of slaughtered and processed animals every single day. Others hunt for their own food, or raise and slaughter their own poultry, hogs, cattle and sheep. This has been humanity’s way of living for untold thousands of years. Most people don’t even think twice about killing another life in order to further their own. Death is present all the time in the world. Why then, is it so uncomfortable for us to face our own, or that of those we love?

Perhaps you have experienced death during 2020, of someone close to you or someone you knew slightly. Or you read and heard many stories of people who died this year. Some stories were tragic, others were poignant and beautiful. Some died while still quite young, while many who died had lived long lives. Death, like birth, is a uniquely individual experience, and simultaneously a universal one. It is a process, and depending on how it is experienced, can be beautiful and simple, or painful and complicated. Or both. Many of the stories I heard this year mentioned how grateful the narrator was for their beloved and the time they had with those who passed on. The biggest lesson to come out of this year filled with global death, seems to be the lesson of making the most of the time you’ve got while you are alive. Nobody knows exactly how long we’ve got in these physical bodies once we arrive. The absolute best thing we can do with our time on Earth is to make the most of every day. We needn’t do incredible feats to awe the masses (although that’s great too), because I think the whole point of being alive is to appreciate that fact and learn how to love yourself and everyone and everything else.

Dear Readers, I wish you the very best life you can imagine living for the new year of 2021. Appreciate everything, from the moment you awaken in the morning, until you fall asleep at night. See everyone else as your brothers and sisters, both human and non-human. Notice the incredible quality of the sun’s light now as it shines upon us all. Feel reverence for the night sky and all our star families who are helping those of us living on Earth’s surface. Become increasingly aware of the amazing gift we are given to live on this gorgeous planet. Help and love your family, friends, neighbors and those you don’t personally know. We are one family, and have one planet which is our common home. Make the most beautiful life possible for yourself and your beloveds in 2021. Become fearless and love it all.

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Pandemic Diaries, part 4; and Resources to Help

 

Photo credit: Questions from a 9-year-old in Chicago who hosts “The Show about Science.”Credit…Bianca Giaever/The New York Times

In the week that has passed since my last update, life has become increasingly paradoxical—on the one hand, personal reality has become strangely quiet and predictable, while on the other, we collectively continue climbing up the roller coaster in anticipation of the moment when we all begin screaming in earnest. Perhaps that is a bit melodramatic, and yet, I’m sure many are feeling similarly about now.

Being a news/prose junkie, I have read/listened to a lot of information and intel over the past week about Covid 19, New York’s crisis, the drama which unfolded on Capital Hill surrounding the unprecedented, 2 trillion dollar aid package by the US government, and yet more news stories. This weekend, I am at saturation level with mainstream news and am taking a break (as I hope are many of you also). I have consciously worked to turn off the news, put down the phone, refrain from checking the New York Times and NPR every couple hours. Instead, I’ve slept a lot, stared out my windows into the wide open sky, taken daily evening walks around my neighborhood, and noticed the stirring of spring all around. Crocus, daffodils, grape hyacinth, windflowers, and the first tulips are blooming in neighbor’s yards. Trees are getting ready to begin blooming soon. In a couple of weeks it will be Easter, a holiday that is near and dear to my heart as it ushers in full-on Spring. Renewal, rebirth, and reset—these are as real and important as the current crisis humanity is facing, and important to notice–perhaps more important than the latest body counts and infection rates of Covid 19.

I’d like to share a few resources with you, Dear Readers, that I have found comforting, inspiring, and thought-provoking. Perhaps one or more of these wise people’s words will also help you in some way as you each navigate the current pandemic and its surrounding emotional roller coaster energies. Here is a list, in no particular order, of some articles, websites and YouTube videos. If you have found any resources you’d like to share, please do so in the comments section of my blog!

https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/

Charles Eisenstein is a brilliant thinker, author, and maverick for a growing audience of people around the world. His essay on Coronavirus and its implications, just published on his website, will give you lots of food for thought. Reading it pushed several of my buttons, and I had to read it in sections. He never fails to make me think, and, ultimately, give me hope for our future.

https://www.shareable.net/series/coronavirus/

Shareable.net is a website devoted to highlighting ways that humans help one another in communities around the world. They have created a series of articles to show how people are helping each other (and ways that you can help your neighbors and community) during the coronavirus days.

https://bioneers.org/what-bioneers-are-saying-about-covid-19-zmaz2003/

Bioneers.org is a wonderful group of thoughtful, brilliant people who are dedicated to the work of creating a healthy, equitable, sustainable world for all of us humans and nature upon Earth. I highly recommend reading their articles, watching their videos, and listening to their podcasts regularly.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/podcasts/the-daily/

The Daily podcast by the New York Times. This one is devoted to kids questions about the Coronavirus. Great information, plus sweet kid voices asking the questions.

https://www.youtube.com/

For those of you who can benefit from listening to a spiritual master, I’ve been watching this man, named Mooji, the past few weeks and find his teachings and advice very soothing and helpful. This link is to his latest message to humanity, and is highly recommended.

As we continue along the pandemic situation, with all of its challenges and frustrations, I wish each of you the courage, strength, and knowledge that you are here on Earth at this time because you are needed now. Continue to ground the light and love, and shine it out to all you meet, whether in person or virtually. Love, light and blessings to all.

 

 

Staying grounded in a pandemic

image via http://kristypace.com/

Dear Readers, how are you managing during these ultra-stress-filled days of pandemic across our world? I am sending each of you copious amounts of calm, emerald green light, silver light of healing, and crystalline light of clarity to help fortify you as you navigate the days and weeks ahead.

My own mental, emotional and physical bodies seem to be continuously cycling through stages of calm, feeling grounded and able to handle the latest news cycle, to experiencing the effects of stress and anxiety on all levels, and then eventually cycling back to peace again. This is happening at least daily, if not hourly sometimes. As the situation becomes more extreme and challenging, we will all be stretched in ways we probably didn’t even know we could be—and it doesn’t feel good! My physical body is certainly feeling very uncomfortable and in pain in certain areas. I’m not ill, and don’t have any symptoms of the coronavirus, thankfully. Yet, it is extremely disconcerting to hear what news reporters and government authorities are telling all of us. Within the past 48 hours, Spain and France have been put on lockdown and quarantines are in place for nearly all their citizens. Today (Monday, March 16, 2020) here in the United States, the president announced that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that no groups of more than 10 people gather, people refrain from going to restaurants and bars, and practice social distancing (standing at least 6 feet from the next person). This afternoon, the city and counties around San Francisco went into quarantine, as the mayor asked all residents to stay home except for getting essentials like food and meds. The greater San Francisco area has around 7 million people. New York city likewise has gone into quarantine, with all the normal activities of that metropolis coming to a standstill. One by one, large cities across the United States are following suit and it is very likely that nearly all of them will be in quarantine status very soon.

I think it is not an exaggeration to state that almost no one alive on our planet today has lived through a time quite like the current pandemic. Surely, many millions have lived through horrific wars, intense natural disasters, and epidemics of various kinds over the last decades. But there is something unique about the spread of the novel coronavirus that is leaving millions of us in shock and awe. It feels like we are in a bizarre, dystopian reality show, which is being written by the human collective minute by minute.

Dear Readers, part of the mission of this blog is to encourage you to find the interrelatedness between us all and the natural world. To make the connections we have to each other and Mother Gaia as strong and as compassionate as possible.  To inspire you to dig down deep into your heart and soul for answers to life’s perplexing and confounding problems. At this pivotal moment in time, we have reached a true crossroads. This coronavirus pandemic is asking each of us, and all of us, to fully grasp how utterly connected we are with one another and with our planet. We are being challenged to go beyond the old paradigm of separation and to see with new eyes just how profoundly we are one people who share it all—down to the very smallest living particles in our bodies. This is a moment. We, who are willing to see clearly, must understand that this virus pandemic is forcing us to confront this truth, and let down our egoistic self in favor of raising up our collective self. In our mandated “social isolation” from one another, we have the tremendous opportunity to reach out in every way we can imagine—in the virtual world of conferences, classes, church services, human services, workspaces, as well as entertainment, sports, shopping, and socializing.

How creative can we be in the face of crisis; the pandemic is asking us. We already have excellent examples all around, both of generosity and pettiness. What of the Tennessee brothers who bought up tens of thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer to sell for inflated prices on Amazon.com, only to be told they couldn’t do it? They ended up, shame-faced, donating them all to the greater good. Or the lyrical story of Italians who, unable to come out into the streets like they are accustomed to do, instead opening their windows and balconies to sing together? People across the world are helping each other in ways small and big. Many thousands of health care workers are dedicated to helping the sick and infected, at possibly huge cost to themselves.

It has been said, it is only when confronted with an emergency that the best in human nature presents itself. Therefore, Crisis is also an Opportunity. I believe this is a moment when we can each choose to find our core strength and courage, when we can step up to the opportunities presented to us for showing compassion and love in the face of adversity. We have a real chance now to lay down the old games of greed, selfishness and pettiness. Life is giving us a new gameboard and we can make up new rules for how to live on Earth. All the things we have been dreaming of—a world based on freedom, love, truth, justice, peace and goodness—are within our grasp. This pandemic could be our grand opportunity to create the new rules moving forward. We don’t HAVE to return to the old normal once we’re on the other side of it. We can forgive transgressions now, we can live justly now, we can give generously now, and build on that momentum moving into the future.

Dear Readers, I encourage each of you reading this post to dig down deep and find your true strength and reason for being alive on the planet. What are you here to do? What are you living for? What kind of world do you wish to build for your children and great grandchildren? This crisis moment can show us in stark terms that not only is a better world possible, but it can happen with lightning speed. In just one month in China, because manufacturing came to a standstill, carbon emissions were cut by 25%. That is an enormous amount of pollution that didn’t occur in a very short period of time. We have the solutions to the problems humanity faces. Perhaps, a year or two from now, we will collectively be able to see the real path to solving them as one of the great learnings from our current pandemic.

Please take all the precautions you can at this time to keep yourself, your family and your community safe. Keep calm, be brave, and shine your light for all who are still in the darkness.