A Spiritual Crisis

Yesterday I wrote that I believe we as a world, as a species, are in a spiritual crisis. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, that God works all things out for our good. I also believe this situation is a wake up call. As a collective, there are many things that need to change to bring about a greater good. It is up to us to recognize it and to do something about it.

I am afraid for our country as well as the rest of the world. As an American, a divide between us has been happening for a long time now. The last election was evidence of it and I’m afraid it grows stronger every day. I am honestly afraid of our president and concerned about his mental health. I know that I am not alone, and I also know there are people who support him more than ever, even in this madness.

Do I think this is all his fault? No? But do I think he’s adding to the chaos instead of soothing the American public? Hells yes. Do I also think he’ll act in the interest of re-election, in the interest of the economy over public health? Yes again. It is frightening to witness. The politicizing of all of this is downright scary and maddening.

In the past two years I’ve been in therapy and worked through a lot of grief in the aftermath of my mom’s death. During this time, I’ve had the opportunity to shift my awareness from the physical level to a spiritual level. When I am in despair, it is helpful to look at life from my soul’s perspective instead of from the little ‘me’ that often thinks she runs the show.

It makes me wonder, since this is a global pandemic, should we be looking at and acting on it from a perspective of global interest? Unfortunately the world’s governments and the structures in place make this a difficult proposition. Looking at this situation on the global level would be a lot like looking at it from a larger, spiritual perspective, vs. an us-and-them perspective that has become the norm both inside the U.S. (Democrats v Republicans) as well as outside (the U.S. against, say, China.)

. . .

Quarantine comes from the Italian word quaranta which means 40 and quarantina which means means 40 days, and 40 days has high spiritual significance. I do not think this is a coincidence.

Are we being tested like Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights? Lent is also a 40 day period. No coincidence, again. Is our spiritual strength being tested? Are we being called to a different collective mindset? Are we being called to something greater than ourselves? Are we being asked to come together as a consciousness instead of continuing the separation between us? I think individually we all have a lot to consider. How are we, individually, doing our part to come together instead of adding to the separation? While we are physically distanced out of necessity, I think we are all being asked to look at ourselves.

It is a time of yin, of quiet, of being instead of doing, of contemplation. Are we using it as such? At the same time, the media is forcing yang (doing, noise, chatter, speculation) upon us. Of course we must stay informed but can we source our media from reliable sources without too much of the political agendas? I’m not sure but these are the questions I’m asking, and I’m using all of the resources I know of to assist my sanity.

If I have a part to play, and I do because we all do, I’d like to be a part of the solution instead of the problem. And to be sure, there is a problem with the world right now. As Albert Einstein said, “we cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them,” and that friends, is exactly what we are doing. I personally choose a different level of thinking, a different level of being. Do you?