Stop. Just stop.
It is no longer a request. It is a mandate.
We will help you.
We will bring the supersonic, high speed merry-go-round to a halt
We will stop
the planes
the trains
the schools
the malls
the meetings
the frenetic, furied rush of illusions and “obligations” that keep you from hearing our
single and shared beating heart,
the way we breathe together, in unison.
Our obligation is to each other,
As it has always been, even if, even though, you have forgotten.
We will interrupt this broadcast, the endless cacophonous broadcast of divisions and distractions,
to bring you this long-breaking news:
We are not well.
None of us; all of us are suffering.
Last year, the firestorms that scorched the lungs of the earth
did not give you pause.
Nor the typhoons in Africa,China, Japan.
Nor the fevered climates in Japan and India.
You have not been listening.
It is hard to listen when you are so busy all the time, hustling to uphold the comforts and conveniences that scaffold your lives.
But the foundation is giving way,
buckling under the weight of your needs and desires.
We will help you.
We will bring the firestorms to your body
We will bring the fever to your body
We will bring the burning, searing, and flooding to your lungs
that you might hear:
We are not well.
Despite what you might think or feel, we are not the enemy.
We are Messenger. We are Ally. We are a balancing force.
We are asking you:
To stop, to be still, to listen;
To move beyond your individual concerns and consider the concerns of all;
To be with your ignorance, to find your humility, to relinquish your thinking minds and travel deep into the mind of the heart;
To look up into the sky, streaked with fewer planes, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, smoky, smoggy, rainy? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy?
To look at a tree, and see it, to notice its condition: how does its health contribute to the health of the sky, to the air you need to be healthy?
To visit a river, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, clean, murky, polluted? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy? How does its health contribute to the health of the tree, who contributes to the health of the sky, so that you may also be healthy?
Many are afraid now.
Do not demonize your fear, and also, do not let it rule you. Instead, let it speak to you—in your stillness,
listen for its wisdom.
What might it be telling you about what is at work, at issue, at risk, beyond the threats of personal inconvenience and illness?
As the health of a tree, a river, the sky tells you about quality of your own health, what might the quality of your health tell you about the health of the rivers, the trees, the sky, and all of us who share this planet with you?
Stop.
Notice if you are resisting.
Notice what you are resisting.
Ask why.
Stop. Just stop.
Be still.
Listen.
Ask us what we might teach you about illness and healing, about what might be required so that all may be well.
We will help you, if you listen.
– Kristin Flyntz
So true. Let’s hope we don’t just forget all of this once we’re on top of it all again. It struck me yesterday that we humans have acted like a very slow moving virus, killing animals and the planet as we’ve spread across the globe. I hope we’re not ignorant enough to think that we have the right to continue like we have, and that we’ll respect this amazing speck in the universe that we call home much more in the future.
Mar 20th, 2020 / 12:20 pm
My heart breaks most for the hourly workers who were on the margins of society before this and now will face hunger and possible homelessness. Places where tourism sustains their economy (the Caribbean etc) have laid off everyone and those countries have far less social support.
The devastation is only just beginning. It is much much more than take this time to plant a garden or be read…. the world’s poor need us and I’m so worried to see how the rest of us respond.
Thanks for the great site. It is always a bright spot and I have taken so much goodness from it.
Mar 20th, 2020 / 2:37 pm
Mary, I too am so worried about the thousands and thousands and thousands of people lost their jobs in the past 72 hours.
Most of the social media and blogs I follow are not acknowledging this at all. Focussed on boredom and streaming (and some even on which vacation community to spend the time in).
Between two of my friends who are senior managers, they let go 145 people today. My town is 15,000 people. So, just today’s count is that 1% of the town became unemployed,
Mar 20th, 2020 / 5:06 pm
For the most part I have felt that this virus has definitely forced many of us to shift our lives’ rhythm. And it does seem like it’s a slow down… but I just have to point out that it’s not a slow down for many people. And there’s one line in this poem that just chaps my hide.
Perhaps I’m super sensitive to it because I fall into this category: teachers. But can we please stop saying that school is closed? It is not closed. Campus is closed. School is VERY MUCH still going on. For some teachers it comes in the form of packets and handouts via email/Classroom/Shared Drive. For others it’s this plus web meetings. For some instructors they have new “office hours”, for others the regular school schedule still holds only it is all virtually conducted.There are still lessons to alter and plan, presentations to give, assessments, and grading to do. There’s more feedback to give, and even more mental health conversations to have, all this while learning new teaching/webbing software and interfaces. Teaching virtually especially with short notice and having it fall right at the end of third quarter (grade reports, thank you), has exponentially upped the work load for teachers.
Please stop saying to teachers and students that they’re lucky to have this time off, or to enjoy the down time. Aside from spring break, there is no time off or down time. I am grateful to still have a paying job when many out there (hello restaurant/hospitality industry!) who are wondering if they can pay their next bill. But I also take offense to folks who think teachers are having a great time in their pajamas, enjoying their new found time off. And give some love to seniors who are possibly facing their last year in school without prom, graduation, and all the celebratory milestones that come with surviving four years of school.
Mar 20th, 2020 / 5:46 pm
Thanks, for the prayer
Mar 21st, 2020 / 12:15 pm
All I can say is WOW.
Mar 21st, 2020 / 4:53 pm
This is wonderfully amazing and so important. May I share this, giving you credit of course,
Mar 29th, 2020 / 12:09 pm
Thank you for sharing your gift with us.
Mar 29th, 2020 / 12:09 pm