Love in this Time

There is time, now, for silence. Those of us who are ordered to “stay at home” or “shelter in place” have found solitude even while scrambling to become our children’s good teachers, using the dining table as our office,  with fear, anxiety, boredom, and anger rising when we listen to conflicting messages on the news. I have experienced incredulous moments of pause when I look around and wonder what world I am in.

COVID-19 has upended life. What began as a mysterious virus affecting people in Wuhan, China has come to sit on the couch beside us. “Social distancing” has moved into the lexicon; one cough in the grocery store can send us fleeing outside. What is unknown is the enemy.

Most of us have: Electricity, books, pens & notebooks, puzzles, food, water, clothing, shoes, our mobile devices, photographs, morning air, rain, loved ones, pets, mugs of hot coffee or tea, the ability to close our eyes and summon peace, to breathe in through our heart and touch our center place.

I hear people say, “this too shall pass,” and I want to believe, but I didn’t know two Sundays ago that I should have walked to the man across the path to meet his eyes and say hello. I didn’t realize I could have visited Luchita Hurtado: I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn at LACMA. I didn’t cherish how delicious it was to see a friend and be able to embrace, kissing the side of their neck.

Linda Hogan wrote, “…all things—birdsongs, the moon, even my own life—grow from rich and splendid silence.” [1]

This is a time for increased, intentional love and prayer: For every human’s health, for our earth, for workers whose jobs have ended, for doctors, nurses, and health care providers, for those who are ordered to stay at home, but have no home.

If you are able, please contribute any amount to feed and house those in need:
Project Angel Food, Los Angeles
Women In Need, New York City
Glide, San Francisco

With love in this time and always,
Deborah

[1] Hogan, Linda.  Solar Storms. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1995