Yesterday (Monday), I felt sick to my stomach on waking up to recall the world’s situation. But I threw myself into ‘uncomplicating’ the day, and my goodness, that helped. I gave myself the timetable I’ve been working on, but tweaked in recognition that we have to limit desk work carefully or we’ll be subsumed by it. I gave myself two ‘Big Mind’ sessions – 10am-12pm and 2-4pm, with a big break in the middle. And I did Busy Mind stuff around that across the day. And it was good.
And then, yesterday afternoon, the news came that the PM’s daily CV19 briefing was being moved from 5.15pm to 8.30pm… Something was afoot. Sure enough, ‘new restrictions’ aka lockdown was at last announced. What a profound moment in human history we are living in.
By this stage, I must admit, I just feel relieved that we’re responding. We’ve had plenty of time to look at Italy and Spain and see that lockdown was on the horizon. Over the past weekend, the main places of leisure having been shut (pubs, cinemas, restaurants, gyms etc), people instead flooded out into the parks and beaches. Yesterday morning, with trains on restricted service, each train was packed with commuters. The supermarkets have been heaving. So, the social distancing thing wasn’t taking care of itself and the government was being acutely criticised for being too vague about what was being asked of people. So now the set up is as follows:
It’s amazing to think that a mere 7 days earlier (Mon 16th Mar), it was me who had to make the call to cancel a training day I was due to deliver (on Tues 17th), despite the major UK charity and the head of staff wellbeing at a massive local employer thinking that gathering 24 staff together for completely non-essential training was not in the least bit problematic…
A mere few days ago, most of the UK was living in a dream that we didn’t have to change our behaviours. It took so long to shake off the idea of people ‘not minding if they get it’ and so carrying on with business as usual. It took so long for people to accept that everyone has to adapt, not merely for themselves, but to protect the NHS staff and vulnerable people (old and young). We can be very self-centred people…
But what is astonishing is that it really was the government that pushed the BAU policy – touting the ‘herd immunity‘ dream while at the same time making some vague comments about ‘flattening the curve’. Why? To protect the economy. If it cost a few thousand lives, well heck, what of it… Amazing… a) to put economy before lives and b) the brave idea that by letting the whole population get infected you wouldn’t break the economy anyway through having hospitals and homes overwhelmed by… people dying passim.
I truly wish blessings and wisdom upon this government. I wish us all humility, nobility, the strength to overcome our lower natures, and the ability to evolve as communities, nations and as a species. Amen.
*****
Let’s read….
Oh, this is so good for today and for this time:
TRANSIENCY: When we realize the everlasting truth of “everything changes” and find our composure in it, we find ourselves in Nirvana. Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transiency, we suffer. So the cause of suffering is our non-acceptance of this truth. The teaching of the cause of suffering and the teaching that everything changes are thus two sides of one coin. Zen Mind p102-3
So of course, this is big news for an Aspie like me: Everything changes. But equally, I do see here an invitation to settle into my most uncomplicated, unchanging routine, so that I can flow with the changes with ease. It’s about taking out unnecessary change so that you can flow with universal changes. Here we are all working from home. How powerful it is not to be getting in the car each day to go here, there and everywhere… In the past, I have burned up so much precious fuel on shimmying, hustling, popping up like Where’s Wally leftrightandcentre. Am I here to burn fuel? No. We are here for STO, right?
In truth you are here to enjoy the unfurling, to surf the waves of vibrational tuning, to revel in flying in the frequency updrafts.
Right. That’s a little less heavy, less worthy… less resistant than ‘STO’. I like that. And how would you suggest we apply this today, in these days?
***
G just came along and we had a really important and beautiful conversation about managing in these times, when other in our lives act in difficult ways, or are triggered or mean or dismissive or disdainful or appear uncaring. Very softly, he talked about how nevertheless we ‘continue being loving’. It was so helpful. And it resonated. So, while ‘everything changes’, we ‘continue being loving’.
I’ll take that. Your thoughts on ‘continue being loving’..?
***Out of time for today. I’ll come back to this tomorrow! Ty***
Continue being loving