Last week, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, surrounded by uncertainty, hundreds of questions and countless fears, a friend e-mailed me a beautiful poem that soothed me.
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed”.
Kitty O’Meara, a wise woman and a retired teacher and chaplain from Madison, Wisconsin, wrote this poem.
The poem helped me consider that nature is taking my hand and walking me through this craziness. Spring, seemingly unaware of our troubled times, pushes up colorful tulips, sprinkles cherry blossoms along the sidewalk, paints incredible sunsets and graces us with sweet showers. Spring follows its seasonal rhythm and clothes our cloistered world in beauty.
May you all stay safe as we journey through the next few weeks.
