being human,  writing

Prayers & An Opportunity

The other day an online acquaintance on Instagram posted about her struggle with this Coronavirus pandemic, how there is such a distinct line of separation between many of us; there are some who were already struggling before all of this, others who are out of work and people who are all sunshine and unicorns spreading positivity when the reality is that there is a lot of collective fear and uncertainty in the world right now.

We are all dealing with this new reality the best we know how, but it is definitely a process. In order for us to grow, we must process how we feel and give ourselves permission to really feel everything that is coming up – fear, frustration, anger, aggravation, grief, sadness, annoyance. All of it. Yes, we must acknowledge it all, honor and hold space for ourselves and others.

Personally, for me, there has not been a lot of change to my day-to-day. I work from home, in a field that helps businesses so I am still working. I am also a relatively solitary person, introverted, so the social aspect hasn’t been as difficult for me as I’m certain it’s been for many. I am exceptionally blessed and I realize it.

With that said, however, I am most certainly FEELING every bit of this. I am a highly sensitive person and energetically attuned to others. Throughout this pandemic, a heaviness has landed in my heart that doesn’t want to move. I practice. I resource and some day are better than others but it remains. I have a heightened sense of awareness as I think of others who aren’t as fortunate.

My heart breaks and I pray for  …

  • Those who cannot work right now.
  • Women (or even men) who are stuck in quarantine with an abusive partner.
  • The children who lost their only meal now that school is not in session.
  • The elderly who already live quiet lives and rely on a bit of socialization to keep their spirits up.
  • First responders with small children who are concerned about their children becoming infected because of their close contact with others.
  • Moms and dads with shared parenting in place, who had to make difficult decisions about in which home the child/children would live during quarantine.
  • Restaurant owners who are serving take-out but wondering if it will be enough to get them through.
  • Single mothers with children at home who also are not sure how they’ll manage during or after this crisis.
  • People and their parents/loved ones/significant others in nursing homes on lockdown, without the ability to see each other.

Whether we get sick or not, we are all affected and for anyone who says otherwise is out of touch with reality.

I keep thinking about the opportunity that lies before us, hoping and praying that as a collective we’ll be different after this is all over.

Might we exercise more kindness toward one another? 

Will our old ways of doing and being die so we can birth new ways of working, living, behaving?

As much as anything, I view this as a spiritual crisis, a calling for us to come together as one.

This is our opportunity to work toward a better world. This is my prayer.