Love in a Time of Corona

Last year, over the winter and spring, I took a local adult-learning evening class that centred around using vibrations to heal the body, mind, and soul. Our instructor is a teacher, Reiki master, and a professor of traditional Chinese medicine and acupressure, to name a few of his areas of specialization;  he is someone with deep knowledge of a variety of healing therapies and practices, and I learned a lot about how sounds and vibrations can affect our health, energy, and mental spaces. After class, he would frequently answer any questions from his students, and spontaneous conversations and discussions would also arise from his lectures.

One of the most interesting things he told us was that he could sometimes see into the past and the future, and that his abilities were as much a gift as they were a curse at times. On one of our nights chatting at the end of class, I made an off-hand remark that the world seemed really bleak at the moment politically and with the climate crisis, and that it was hard not to despair at how badly things seemed to be going. He smiled back with his beautiful, calming manner, his grin wide as he shook his head. The planet, he warned, would be having a really bumpy ride for the next few years, and that there would be some suffering. But, he added, from the ashes of this turbulence, a new world would emerge, one so beautiful that it would be like heaven on Earth, a paradise like we would not believe. I remember feeling that this was one of those moments he sometimes had when he was trying to reassure us with information or secret knowledge that he possessed but could not divulge, one of those blessed curses he had referred to. My thought at the time was that some kind of climatic catastrophe was coming, or that another World War was going to start, and like many of the conversations I often have with enlightened people, I shoved it to the back of that overloaded brain of mine, where things often sit for a long time until something starts to trigger a recall at a more useful moment and place.

And so here we are, fourteen months later, and the conversations have jumped back out into the light of day for me because I think I finally understand what he was trying to communicate. One of the topics he often returned to in between lectures and lessons was the idea of karma, and the notion that whatever one puts out to the universe will come back to them since actions and results of actions are linked by cause and effect. He spoke often about the need to build and strengthen your good karma for when it will be necessary to receive its effects in turn, and to always strive to live a life of kindness so that you will have enough good karma in reserve for times of darkness.

The events of the last few weeks have escalated a lot of panic and concern, but I am now seeing them through his futuristic lens and nodding my head at his premonitions and calm wisdom. There will undoubtedly be great suffering in the near future, and I wish this weren’t part of the equation. However, the grim reality is that many will face adversity, pain, and grief, and that there will be loss; the scope is overwhelming depressing, and lingering on the negative and feeding our fear and anxiety does none of us any good. We need to be prepared and thoughtful, and must follow instructions from our chief medical officers, but beyond that, we also need to take a deep breath and carry on as best we can. What I’m going to try to deliver here, in my best ADHD-fuelled observations and insights, is the silver lining between the dark clouds that are hanging over us at the moment and for the foreseeable future.

We are all in this together. We are connected. We are one planet. Let that sink in deeply, but in a beautiful way. We have seen Italians and Spaniards singing together on balconies to lift each other’s spirits, stores claiming special hours so that the elderly and less mobile shoppers can take care of their needs without fighting those of us who are stronger and might harm them with our swift movements, and companies shifting their production to make much-needed masks and other medical equipment. On my street, I have witnessed all our neighbours calling out to each other and exchanging phone numbers so that we can assist one another as we are forced into physical isolation.  These are reminders that what makes us human is our capacity to care for others.

The pause will be good for the health of the planet as we are forced to stay home and isolated physically as much as we can. What are the benefits of this timeout? Every animal hunted needlessly for the stupidity of trophies and other such greed can now roam more freely, the planet can breathe as cars remain in driveways and airplanes are grounded, and every cat and dog who now have their beloved humans at home more than they ever dreamed possible are being spoiled rotten. I can’t think of a better outcome for dogs, who are the closest creations that could ever convince me that there is a God.

The pause will make us reconsider our basic values and assumptions. If so many of us can work from home during a sustained period, perhaps we will see a fundamental change in how certain occupations continue after the current crisis has passed. Imagine a world where rush hour may no longer exist because we have seen how needless it is to carry on as before. Game changer? Let’s hope so.

The pause will give us something that I’ve realised is so precious since I retired last June, which is the gift of time. There will be ample moments to walk, read, relax, exercise and stretch, and listen to music and podcasts, but also to clean our homes and get rid of things that no longer serve us. It will make us remember that everything we have until now taken for granted to some degree or another matters. That our governments must ensure a stable, well-funded health and social infrastructure for all citizens will be self-evident during and long after this pandemic is over, and we will realise that so many of the things we thought were important turned out to be distractions from what matters: health, love, family and friends, and the beautiful planet we all share together.

So, instead of letting fear and panic dominate your thoughts, let’s balance out the physical closing up with the opening of our hearts and minds to see how we can make this process better for ourselves and those around us who might need our assistance. This is not only good for our karma, but also for our communities and our future. We will get through this bleak period, and a more beautiful Earth will emerge when the cycle of this modern plague is over. I feel like this special knowledge has been sitting dormant deep inside of me, ever since I first heard my teacher speak in vague terms last winter, but that now it has resurfaced to keep me calm and focussed on what is truly important. I hope it will resonate with you the same way, and that you will feel peace and find your resolve in reading these words. As with everything else in life, there really is a song for everything, and I will leave you with one from the immensely talented Frank Turner, who wrote this a few years back as a response to the wave of populism and dread that was filling western politics. All I ask is that you follow his lead to be more kind.