“My courage does not roar. It whispers to my heart. It makes me dig deep and find it in my soul to fight on.” <Kim Fitzsimmons>
It takes courage to go to work these days as an ‘essential services’ provider. You valiantly and selflessly serve long hours at potentially great cost to you and your families. We continue to hold you close in our hearts and pray for your protection. We are grateful … grateful beyond measure. Thank you for letting the courage that whispers to your heart help you dig deep and find it in your soul to fight on.
In spite of any personal situation we may be dealing with … in spite of any seas we may need to confront … in spite of where we are on the aging scale … in spite of what is happening in this world at this time … in spite of COVID19, may we face each moment with that indefinable spirit that enables us to deal with what-must-be-faced day-by-day, moment-by-moment.
Courage, my friends. Courage. And when we no longer have any courage, may we remember that somewhere in the world, people are praying for courage for those who are needing it. We are stronger than we may think we are.
The initial shock of COVID19 has hit. Grief is emerging as people deal with the loss COVID19 is bringing: … issues of death and dying because of a diagnosis of COVID19 … loss of income because their place of employment has been shut down … loss of freedom because schools, parks, businesses, swimming pools, recreation centres, pubs, theatres, conferences, etc. are closed … loss of control over lives … and more.
How to deal with the stress of it all? How to maintain some sense of emotional stability? How to find peace in the panic?
Perhaps the words of a woman who lived centuries ago, will help. Dame Julian of Norwich wrote something very simple at a difficult time in her life. She wrote this: “All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of thing shall be well.”
As a grief counsellor, I’ve found it helpful to encourage people, when they find themselves in a difficult situation, to use Dame Julian’s words with a conscious pattern of breathing gently, deeply, slowly and properly.
We breathe, but not always properly. And at times of stress, our breathing becomes more and more shallow which can lead to further stress. One way to test how you breathe is to place your hands in front of you on your belly/tummy with the longest fingers gently touching. As you breathe in, check to see if your shoulders are moving up or if your fingers are gently moving apart. Hopefully, it’s the latter. Keep practicing until you’re able to do this.
Then, using Dame Julian’s words, consciously doing some gentle, deep, slow breathing, try following this:
1. Gently inhaling … say/whisper/think/pray “All shall be well.” 2. Gently exhaling … say/whisper/think/pray “All shall be well.” 3. Gently inhaling … say/whisper/think/pray “And all manner of thing 4. Gently exhaling … say/whisper/think/pray “Shall be well.”
Then just sit for a few moments. Sit in the calm. Sit in the peace.
By doing the above, you have slowed down your breathing, brought oxygen into your body and welcomed a gentle reduction in your anxiety. Peace. Maybe just for a moment – or a few moments – but peace.
And, there is more. While Dame Julian’s words don’t say that “All IS well,” the words offer a hopeful message to our brain that “all SHALL BE well.”
When we combine Dame Julian’s words with a pattern of conscious breathing, we are sending positive messages to our body and our mind. “All shall be well.”
It will take time, but “all shall be well” and we will get through COVID19 – together.
Breathe, my Soulistry friends. Breathe in ruach, peace, hope. “All shall be well. All shall be well. And all manner of thing shall be well.”
“Stocks surged after the worst day since 1987 crash!” “Countries are closed off.” “Sports games, concerts, worship services are cancelled.” “It’s going to get worse, not better.” “COVID-19 is the end of the world.”
We’ve heard them all – and more. So what do we do?
Perhaps we do an attitude-adjustment.
Perhaps we intentionally focus on the goodness around us the examples of compassion the incidents of kindness the expressions of love the gifts of colour in flowers, children at play, puppies and kittens instead of the yuck.
Perhaps we look to the Creator of the present moment who stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart, who brings hope, courage, strength as we wait in uncertainty and who brings peace that passes understanding so that we may rest at night, heal and awaken in the morning to the gift of a new day where we focus on making time to breathe, deep and gently and inhale peace … and calm … and hope.
People seem to be reacting to news of the spreading COVID virus in different ways.
Discrimination of certain ethnicities is becoming one of the consequences of the rising fear of this virus.
My hope is that everyone will treat others “as the sacred being they are”and that bullying, abuse, violence, hatred, war, road rage, prejudice, gossip, racism, ageism, sexism, terrorism, religious intolerance, injustice, discrimination … for any reason … will cease.
May every human being be treated as the sacred being they are.
Reminds me of a winter I lived in Shawnigan Lake when I looked out my office window and saw this bird — created by snow covered a bush in front of that window.
It was magical — a beak, an eye, a wing … and I didn’t create it or move anything around to reveal those parts or anything!
There it was – in front of me. I watched in wonder as the snow descended on the bush outside my office window and a snowbird magically and gradually formed out of the bush.
Rushing to get my camera, I realized that the snowbird captured the essence of Wonder, Joy, Awe and Peace.
The timing was quite remarkable — I had just been diagnosed with mercury poisoning; had just moved to the little house in Shawnigan; hadn’t met any of the neighbours; it was a miserable winter storm; I was incapacitated with no family nearby and friends who weren’t able to come over the Malahat Mountain because of the distance and weather.
The doctor told me “The good news is … you won’t die from this. The bad news is … you’ll wish you had.” There were times when he was right. And that morning, was one of those really difficult mornings when I wasn’t free from severe pain, had beyond-limited mobility (when mercury poisoning sets in, muscles atrophy), and the list went on.
In my mind/thoughts/prayers, I wanted/needed a “sign” of reassurance. I slowly made my way to my office … and saw this.
A sign. A sign of reassurance that I was not – and would not be alone during the time of recovery and that there would be eventual recovery.
That recovery was difficult and lengthy and there is still evidence of the mercury expressing itself in my system but … I will always remember the SnowBird — the sign of Spirit with me.
And now, I hope and pray, you will too and that if you are going through a difficult time, you will take comfort from the SnowBird. 🙂
May you experience “moments of wonder” in the coming days and weeks in ways that you can’t even begin to ask or imagine!
