Morning Light

It has been dull and raining since our sheltering in place began, so it was uplifting to see the sun touching the fluffy white clouds rising above the mist. I had some very strange dreams last night after reading this very good article on the course of the pandemic and why it is essential for us 'flatten the curve' by being responsible for each other and keeping our distance. If you are confused about why there is such concern when the numbers seem relatively small, it's worth reading.

I find that my general wellbeing follows a curve as well. In the morning I wake up unnerved by nighttime forebodings and loss of purpose. A cup of coffee helps restore perspective but I find myself becoming emotional and teary as I field messages from businesses and their efforts to stay afloat in this boat in which we all find ourselves. Unfortunately for this technologically challenged person a lot of it involves downloading apps I've never heard of, establishing new accounts with new passwords which I won't remember, and trying to come face to face online with people I am used to seeing face to face.  When frustration overcomes me...what's Zoom? why does my health portal claim I'm giving it the wrong password when its the same one I've always used? Why do I need to use a health portal anyway? All I need is a prescription refilled....I soldier on with wiping doorknobs and mopping the floor. Why am I doing that when the only people in the house are John the dog and me?

John occupied himself by going to the hardware store and getting some wood for a garden project. He could do the whole thing without ever going inside and there was nobody else there anyway except the guy cutting the wood. Social distancing could be maintained. He was going to ask Will to go to the store for some beer, but discovered that the Trail House will bring beer (and his standard coffee order) to the door, and dear Crystal was very happy to see him. He came home acting like a man who had escaped from prison.

A walk around the country road circuit in the sun restored equilibrium and some peace of mind. Finding a balance between staying informed and finding the right evening news and the right amount  of news will be the challenge tonight, mitigated somewhat by a glass or two of wine.

The newsletter from the Osher LifelongLearning Institute contained a very personal note from the director. All our classes have, of course, been cancelled. Social isolation is real, she says, and in an effort to combat its negativism, she offers the following prose poem by Kitty O'Meara.

And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested and exercised 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, he 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.