For the first time, asking "how are you?" is an actual question
(as opposed to making conversation). I often find this question
hard to answer - there are so MANY options.
"Which part of me do you want to know about...?"
I have my work, my daily life, my zoom life & a life that
has slipped into a chapter formerly called Normal.
As we move into the second part of a year with a global
pandemic, "no shirt / no shoes / no service" now includes
a mask & some distance. I miss the accidental conversations
as I'm grocery shopping or hugs from friends I may have just
seen an hour ago. The promise of traveling great distances
to be with those I love is just about unbelievable at this point.
I rely on the old habit of keeping busy to protect me from
remembering too deeply just how wonderful life was -
before I knew it. Running unconscious was my super power-
blowing by folks I didn't have time for like there'd always
be next time.....How could I even get to "how are you?"
Just what kind of SUPER POWER would help us at this time?
Nothing is stopping us from developing a renewed friendship
with ourselves. Lord knows in my old Normal, I was quite
good at blowin' past mySelf, too! As we wait to hit the stage of
New / Post COVID Times, it's like being in the Green Room
listening for our cue. Waiting is a listening-for. With my ears
turned inward, I can hear the stirrings of many things.
Animal symbols show up in my dreams & in my daily
practices, showing the way to hidden super powers.
In this time, strength & perseverance could prove helpful.
Not the old, rip-roaring, punch & kick kind of strength.
I've found that I'm much too "done" with aggressive,
heavy-hitting workouts or hard-nose plans to attack my day.
These don't build the kind of strength I feel in these days.
I'm all about going for a walk in the mornings & smelling the
flowers. It reminds me of the story of Ferdinand the Bull who valued the contentment of just being under a tree.
I can be strong & content.
I have found that my greatest strength is consistency.
Like the old tortoise in the Tortoise & the Hare fable,
the steadfastness & patience is actually quite heroic -
if you want to make it through obstacles on your path.
Mindfully walking through the day can allow thoughts to rise
that haven't seen the light of day in awhile.
A connection to what really matters to ME.
I've found a new, wonderfully old fashioned way of connecting
with the PEOPLE I miss seeing - Snail Mail. Yes, it's of a slow,
steady pace. I'm sending notes out just about every day & love
anticipating the moment when my friends receive them.
It's QUIRKY! (could quirky be a super power?)
Snails symbolize the slowing pace of our lives.
We are also growing in our awareness of time and that we
absolutely COULD spend it more wisely. Nice & Easy does it.
As we move collectively through this time of great transition,
New will Rise to the occasion & we will fold the Old into
it - at least the parts of it that are still helpful. Perhaps things
will transform & we'll be all right in the long run. May we each
discover our own super powers which were known as Character
way back in the older days. (is the word "character" still used...?)
In this long process of becoming, with a slower pace,
we may find a connection we long for in just asking ourselves in
the quietude of a morning walk:
"How are YOU?".
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world ...
the master calls the butterfly.
