As we go into too many days, weeks and months of COVID in our world, I wonder how the trees are doing? I wonder how the earth is doing? I wonder how the butterflies and hummingbirds and seagulls are doing? How are the crows and deer and racoons? Are they all as aware as we are, that something is shifting in our world community?
Before COVID was a reality, I would often grapple with comprehending the “sixth extinction.” It is amazing to me that this reality of collapsing species and ecosystems have been so far off many of our radars since fear and anxiety have gripped so many of us. As I research top environmental news for the month, I learn that “the rate at which ice is disappearing across the planet is speeding up, according to new research” and I know in my heart there are many more such stories to find.
The enormity of all the changes and all the pain is mind-boggling. And yet, now I come back to Jeffery Martin’s work in terms of fundamental wellbeing. Do I trust life, fundamentally? As Einstein is often quoted: “The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.”
These times call for enormous work, to keep open-hearted, compassionate and present. I am asking myself how I can extend more love and patience – to myself, to others, to our world? If I trust that the Universe is fundamentally friendly, then what am I being called on to do now? How can I tune in to that larger sense of myself so that I can be more present and give more freely?
Now that’s a station I want to tune into!
“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” … Jimmy Carter