The universe has allowed us to sit with ourselves and observe the simplicity and the complexity of being still. Amid this global health crisis, we are experiencing a confusing world. We listen to world leaders and experts grasping for answers to bring the world back to some semblance of normalcy. We realize now how we have mistreated our planet and humanity. We are faced with having to accept wanting to live while we watch as others die.
According to the Tao: “It is on disaster that good fortune perches; it is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches.”
The Tao revealed to us what we have ignored about “The Way of Living” in this universe: “It is easy to maintain a situation while it is still secure; it is easy to deal with a situation before symptoms develop; it is easy to break a thing when it is yet brittle; it is easy to dissolve a thing when it is yet minute. Deal with a thing while it is still nothing; keep a thing in order before disorder sets in.”
We now see what happened when the leaders of countries ignored the severity of COVID-19.
As we sit with ourselves locked down in our homes, we are praying for better days ahead, and that is all we can do as we move forward and evolve into our “new normal.” We are witnessing what it’s like to live in ignorance because little is known about this novel virus. We are bombarded with inaccurate and contradictory information disseminated by those who should remain silent on matters of which they do not know. I am reminded of those famous words voiced by the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., “nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
We pray for answers to a vaccine, we pray for the dying to cease, we pray for our own safety and those we love, and we pray for this global nightmare to end.
Humanity will never be the same after this globally shared nightmare. Wake every morning in gratitude and be thankful for the miracle of life.
Be still and be mindful of every moment of your life. Faith is moving forward when there is no road ahead of you. We may be sorrow-stricken right now; however, we will rise once again, hopefully with lessons learned.
During this Holy Week and World Health Week, pray for all those who are working while putting their lives and their families’ lives at risk.
Stay strong. I hope you are well. When you can, Stay Home and Stay Safe.
God bless you and your family,
Stephanie Emelia Barnes, Ph.D.
