Let's NOT return to "Business as usual".
I’m sure some of you have been seeing imagery of Venice and other places around the globe that are experiencing a clearing of pollution, both in air and water. The turnaround was so fast there in Venice! The swans returned, fish are visible in the clearing water. As people go inside and hugely reduce their reliance on cars and other polluting devices, the environments steps right up and balances itself. What can this tell us? What an enormous lesson right before our eyes!
Do we have the courage, if we survive the current challenges, to turn and face up to the villains of this world? Those who insist that burning fossil fuels is the only way, who persistently and actively plunder and rape the earth, have changed and removed protections for air and water, for natural lands and animals? There are those in power who are systematically stripping assistance for those who are already in precarious states of poverty, hunger and homelessness. Is this not villainy?
Even the seemingly altruistic idea of offering a check for $1,000 or $1,200 for every American has turned into a political brawl about where the money actually goes, or whether to do it at all. Just because we are in a perilous and pivotal moment in time doesn’t mean that callousness and heartlessness goes away. If we join together in a mindful way, I believe that this dark energy can be transmuted.
That aside, what about our own behaviors? Is it possible that this pandemic and the ensuing chaos can knock us out of our unconscious actions, tribal group-mind ignorance and sleepingness to see that we are on the edge of the cliff?
Humans need, right this instant, to change trajectory, jolt ourselves out of fear and self-interest and set about to make things right. We CAN do it. People are so adaptable and creative, as soon as restaurants started closing, a lot of the people involved set about to finding ways to get food to those who wanted it in other ways. In walking around outside I see people who are a lot more willing to wave and say hello, to connect in a way they would not have even a few weeks ago. In my delivery job with Fedex, I have been asking people that I deliver to up in the mountains of Colorado,
“Are you ok? Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do for you?”
and they light up.
After this crisis passes I will continue to do that, it’s such a beautiful moment when others see that you really do care about them, and care about whether they are all right. Often they say right away,
“Oh we’re fine!”
And then they think a minute about that. Are we really? You can see the wheels turning. We have food, we have drink, we have our animals, we have each other. We have a roof. Then they nod,
“Yes, we’re good. Thank you for asking.”
I wonder if we will retain some of that connection and caring if we go back to “business as usual.” We can, but it will require mindfulness and commitment as a group of humans.
Humans are an amazing synergy with truly miraculous powers. We CAN align with each other at a high level.
What if our usual methods of communication went away? No phones, no TV, no computer. I’ll bet our inner ears would perk up, just as the canals in Venice cleared, and we would start to hear. This is where a good solid daily meditation practice could be the salvation of us all. Anyone can meditate. Each of us would be smart to develop a protection prayer practice, and if possible receive a protection blessing from a high level spiritual teacher. The dark side is busy at this time, and does not mean us well.
Meditation does not always mean sitting cross-legged at an altar, or resting in a quiet mind. I personally find that the most precious time, and receive loving guidance often. It is possible to live in the present moment stillness while walking, or chanting, or writing Calligraphy. The point is to get the mortal ego mind to be quiet long enough to hear the voice of silence, of your own highest self.
“Touch your inner space, which is nothingness, as silent and empty as the sky; it is your inner sky. Once you settle down in your inner sky, you have come home, and a great maturity arises in your actions, in your behavior. Then whatever you do has grace in it. Then whatever you do is a poetry in itself. You live poetry; your walking becomes dancing, your silence becomes music.”
– Osho
In this stillness we can send out light feelers to our fellow humans if we want to do that. We might say,
“Dear my human and animal family on the earth, I offer my love to you. Let’s please unite in love right now.” And then chant a love mantra or prayer. (always say, “as appropriate”, acknowledging that heaven knows best what is needed.) Or,
“Dear all souls on Mother Earth, I offer my light to you. Lets all please rise above the darkness and perceive the holy light within and all around us.” And then chant a light mantra or prayer.
There’s no limit to the ways we can bless each other, and if we all do it as much as we can, we will raise the frequency and consciousness of humanity and mother earth.
One simple and incredibly powerful ways to give out this unifying light and energy is to invite the Earth and all souls on Mother Earth to join you in singing the Love Peace and Harmony song, which is a mantra of high energy and frequency. Go to your App store and download the song, or go to LovePeaceHarmony.org and download it from there. So easy, and so powerful.
I make one request of you all, keep your eyes and ears open to the beings around you. For some, especially vulnerable children and animals, this enforced staying at home is a sad, turbulent, and even harmful time. Not everyone is jumping for joy at being trapped for days on end with toddlers or other humans that we have conflicts with. Some will turn to alcohol and drugs to deaden their pain, and then inflict it on others. Fear and anger can create violence and dispair. Let us offer all our love to these.
Let’s please NOT return to business as usual, but a new business, the business of an enlightened race of beings that can turn this world into a heaven. We can do it. We can.
Kristin Strachan
