On the first morning of my self quarantine to slow the spread of Covid-19, I received this beautiful quote from a dear friend. It made me cry. 

It made me cry because it put into words what I had already been feeling.  Mother Earth is sick of our shit. She has been patient and loving, continuing to give and allow us time to work it out on our own, and we have failed. We are making Her and ourselves sicker by the second, literally. Enough is enough.

The Coronavirus is a nightmare. No question about that. Thousands are dying. Our economy is shut down. We are quarantined for God knows how long and we can’t be sure that the world will ever be the same. And yet, each day there are blessings that seem to emerge from all of this. 

In addition to those so eloquently outlined in the quote, I’m sure you are each finding unique blessings of your own. I know I am. This week, I started doing a daily “bike ride” with my mom who is 85 years old and quarantined in her small retirement community apartment. She is in Pennsylvania and I am in Massachusetts, but we check in at the allotted time most days and facetime while we ride. It not only gets her moving (due to debilitating back pain, she has trouble motivating herself to exercise), but it also gives us a chance to check in and catch up. This has been a meaningful connection that I would never have thought of had life been business as usual. 

And there are others. I am conversing on a deeper level with my 23-year old daughter who is making her way in LA on her own. While bored in her apartment, she put together a quiz for friends and family to see how well we all knew her and I did surprisingly poorly. It made me realize I need to talk less and listen more. I’ve gotten back on my mountain bike and am doing more reading. I’ve caught up with old friends. I started this blog.

As I continue to reflect on the quote sent by my friend, I realize that I am not only crying for the sickness and the failure, but I am also crying for the love that is surfacing and the opportunity for us all to heal together on an individual and global level. It is a special gift and I believe we will all come out better on the other side.