Yes, there is isolation.
Yes, there is panic buying.
Yes, there is sickness.
Yes, there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes, there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes, there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes, there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes, there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes, there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing
Ah, medicine for the soul. Thank you for writing and sharing, Bonnie.
Thanks, Vicki. I didn’t write that piece myself. I know we are supposed to share our own original material in these blogs. I found it on Facebook and just wanted to share it. You can pull it up under the name of the author at the bottom of the page. (0)
So, thank you for curating and bringing it to us here on bizcatalyst360…
Thank YOU, Vicki 🙂
Thank you Bonnie for this as I am truly not in fear but in anticipation of what lies ahead and how I can help those now who are in fear.
How wonderful that you are not. I have to admit I go in and out of it, not so much of the virus but of losing those I know and care about, financial stuff, and my thoughts connected to my own political paranoia. This piece does calm me every time I read it. It reminds me of the prophecies from the indigenous people that I have been hearing for the past 20 years. They have all said that we are living in a time of moving from an age of darkness to an age of light, from an old paradigm of how we live to a new one. Since it touched me, I wanted to share it.
Bonnie thank you for a calming message.
Thanks, Larry 🙂
Thank YOU, Larry
I think this is pretty much what we are all going through, JoAnna. I can’t say I am surprised, as how we all have been living is unsustainable. The rugged individualist, competitive, profit motive, and lack of respect for the earth could not have continued forever. But I got blindsided the way it hit us and so quickly. It is my vision that we will find that compassion for ourselves, each other, and the earth and joining one another in community is the new paradigm that will unfold through this time of uncertainty and trauma. Bonnie
I’ve been worrying on and off for the past week. One minute I’m panicked, the next I feel prepared. I think the unknown has a way of doing that to us.
But for first time in history – to my knowledge – we all have to come together. This is the first time we all face a common enemy. I hope we learn to work together for the sake of our common humanity. I hope it brings us together instead of tearing us further part.