First of all let’s be clear that fear is not a good thing. Fear spreads quickly and leaves your immune system stressed and less able to work properly. Worry does the same thing. Don’t worry about things you can’t change but change what you can to make sure you stay well. But in this crisis opportunities for change for the good are appearing. Families are able to become closer by caring for each other better, and spend time together if in isolation mode and learn to work with each other. Working from home is becoming acceptable and many who are isolated in this way are welcoming the fact they don’t have the commute to work and that is also helping them to feel better.
Some will pass over but they will only go if their time is right. You go when you are meant to go. There is no choice about this. But you can take precautions as stated in the governments notes. Businesses are failing and people are struggling moneywise but they will then start to look at what life is really about. Do we need new phones and gadgets all the time. Do we need expensive imported foods? Do we need expensive holidays and weddings abroad? What is most important in your life? Do we always have to have the latest fashion fad? These items are often made in countries where labour is cheap and work conditions are like slavery. Think about this.
People have not listened to the warnings about our planet and the way they live so something had to happen to make them think. For over a year now I have ‘known’ that something would happen. I thought it might be a giant earthquake or intensive flooding. We have had the wild fires and the flooding and all that happened was people complained about compensation and getting more money to rebuild in the same way as before. So now we have a spreading illness bringing everything to a halt. Now is your opportunity to reflect on your life, the way you live and how you could make changes. The world will not be the same again. Look for the good things and the opportunities that are there for you to learn about love for the earth, for your family and for others.
And if you get ill, then make sure you recover properly before mixing with others.
Here is a wonderful piece of writing that I came across yesterday. It is long but worth the read.
LOCKDOWN …
by Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
March 13th 2020
Yes there is fear.
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.
Walking the Druid Path 