4/5/2020 The big picture
I reach out this week acutely aware that in having my health, being employed, and occupying a safe and comfortable home, I am among the most lucky people in our country. I hope this message finds you well and safe, also.
The last month has been a whirlwind of change. Absorbing the amount of change and uncertainty we are all experiencing is a huge challenge. Managing the details associated with each alteration can be overwhelming, and in the middle of it all, we can lose track of the big picture.
Here's how I see that big picture: we are members of families, work groups, teams, social groups, and communities in which people are all struggling to adjust. Each day and moment brings us into awareness of how connected we are to one another. Sometimes, that awareness is via the absence of in-person contact. Sometimes, it's in the way that our now-crowded homes overwhelm us. And sometimes, it's in the tears we shed when reading or hearing news about this pandemic.
We are all connected - and we are all in this together. When you are having a rough moment, I can step in. When I am out of inner resources, you can lend a (virtual) ear to listen or shoulder to cry on. If our neighborhood has a surplus of something, we can share. If you are healthy, you can help someone who isn't.
All around us, the big picture is full of apprehension - but also full of hope. Not silly, ungrounded hope - but true hope, based on our histories of pulling together through tough challenges. We see people working heroically, helping one another, staying true to shared values. We see so much flexibility, patience, creativity, resilience.
The big picture is, this isn't about any single one of us. It's about all of us, together.
I'm going to close with a couple of quotes I came across this week, that helped me. The first is from Thich Nhat Han:
The bell is calling.
Our feet kiss the Earth.
Our eyes embrace the Sky.
We walk in mindfulness.
Ten thousand lives can be seen in a single instant.
This is still Springtime,
when everything is manifesting itself so rapidly.
The snow is green.
And the sunshine is falling like the rain.
The second is the end of the poem "Directive" by Robert Frost:
Here are your waters and your watering place.
Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.
Stay home, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay in touch. Sent with love and gratitude -
Liz