Just Getting Started

Like many people around the world, I’ve spent a lot of the past week thinking and wondering and worrying about the virus that has turned our world upside down—bringing our fabulously powerful sporting-entertainment industry to a halt, making the self-aggrandizing posturing of politicians look foolish and transforming ‘social distancing’ from a DSM diagnosis into a social virtue.

At the beginning of the week, I was mildly concerned about some vague Corona virus but by yesterday, I was on a first-name basis—COVID-19—with the virus and had been part of our Leadership Council decision to suspend all in-person gatherings here at the Temple for at least the next two weeks. (Melissa and I will still be leading meditation here at the Temple. You can find out how to join in virtually at our web site or on our Facebook page.)

All of us together are going to learn how to live in a world that has been forever changed by this pandemic. The upcoming weeks and months will require us to continue to adapt to new realities and to change some of our most basic behaviors. And while we take all necessary precautions, can we meet these times with the intention to do more than survive? Even as we practice ‘social distancing’ can we practice new ways of reaching out to support and connect to each other?

In this disruption of the normal momentum of our lives, we have an unprecedented opportunity to see what we haven’t seen before, to appreciate the treasures of life that have been hidden in plain sight. Can we turn in a new way to the people and animals and plants that we live with? Can we meet the many emotions that arise within and between us without getting lost in our anxiety nor turning away from what is now required of us?

As a minister friend of mine is fond of saying—‘Another gosh-darn learning opportunity.’