I read the other day a sentiment that I keep coming back to from Rev. Sally Robbins, “A letting go must occur for us to arrive at the truth of ourselves.” This pandemic has been a forced letting go for all of us. A letting go of all the things we were keeping ourselves busy with. All the buying we were doing to cover up and hide.
It’s fitting I am finishing this blog on Holy Saturday, because like Jesus, we are stripped down and nailed up. Exposed and vulnerable. It’s exactly the place we avoid, and just the place we have to go to find true peace and clarity.
It is hard. It can be overwhelming and scary. We are called to let go of all the structure and control we have built into our lives, mandated to change our habits and routines. Everything we’ve done to create safety and connection and normalcy has been compromised. We struggle and grasp for something to comfort us.
If we can move past the denial and anger (the first stage of grieving our loss of normalcy) we can open our eyes to the truth of our situation. This virus has shone a light on how our desire to protect and control can actually harm us. We have kept ourselves from seeing the inequality, indifference, and utter failure of leadership and systems that we are now seeing as Julio Vincent Gambuto so beautifully wrote in his piece “Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting.”
We can sit today and look at it for what it is. Fear will come because we will say it’s too big to fix or we don’t have the power to change it. We have to remind ourselves that’s just the story we are telling ourselves. What we know for sure is that we can do hard things. We can do incredible things. We need to go find the people and information to make the change happen.
Let’s start with our families. What can we remove or bring in here forward to live a better life with our family? Then our work. Then our community. If we each stepped into what is true, gave space for what could be improved, and worked with others to implement those ideas, this could be a time for incredible positive change for generations to come.
Many are paralyzed by fear and uncertainty, stuck in negative emotions that don’t allow the opportunity to learn and grow. I am realizing how much we need to invest in ourselves and each other to build clarity and peace within instead of building it externally. That takes a commitment of time and space to your spiritual practice. Connecting with ourself and our Creator is the only true way to find peace and clarity. Understanding and trusting ourselves and your Creator is the only way to keep clarity and peace amidst chaos.
Today is your chance to start. We are asked to contemplate loss today so we can be made new. Do we want to go back to “normal” or move forward to something better? My wish for you is that instead of seeking comfort outside yourself, you will do your work to find it within so you can experience true joy: happiness no matter what happens. (Watch this David Steindl-Rast TEDtalk for inspiration)
Grit, Gratitude, and Grace 