Strange Days

 

Animal pictures – just because

 

“What do you think we’ll learn from this?”

That’s my wife’s question regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. And I think it’s a very good question. Since Jody is a nurse, she’s probably wondering if our society will learn to practice better hygiene, learn to stay home when we’re sick, etc. Until she brought it up, I don’t think I had viewed this crisis as an opportunity to learn something new. To be honest, I have been floating in a kind of limbo these last few months. First, there was the limbo of being newly retired. And then just as I was getting used to being retired the pandemic hit with its attendant rules about staying home. About the only time my wife and I leave the house these days is to walk our dogs. On those rare occasions that we do happen to venture further out, we are amazed at the empty streets and the sheer quietness of the city. Strange days.

Waiting for the pandemic to peak in the United States has given me time to consider what, if anything, we can learn. Here are a few things I’ve learned so far:

Our society is fragile. The income gap between the rich and the poor has never been clearer. For the wealthiest citizens in our country, the Coronavirus is an inconvenience. For those who are not wealthy, which is the vast majority of Americans, it is a catastrophe. Many in our country are just a paycheck or two away from complete financial collapse. This is proof that the ‘booming economy’ the president likes to tout benefits only a few. Looking ahead, with more pandemics and crises looming on the horizon, this is a recipe for disaster.

There are heroes everywhere. It is so easy to get caught up in the negatives of this situation that you can completely miss the positives. I have been so encouraged by the examples of health care workers, police officers and fire fighters, postal workers, grocery clerks, warehouse workers, truck drivers, delivery drivers and all those who are risking their health to keep us safe and the country running.

Americans are a restless people. It’s true – we are constantly on the move. It seems that the hardest thing for us to do is just stay put, even though that’s the best way to stem the impact of the Coronavirus. This inability to quiet our restlessness seems, to me, more like a spiritual problem than anything else. I am reminded of the story of the Israelites running from Pharoah. With their backs against the (sea)wall and panic setting in, Moses told them:

“All you need to do is be still. The LORD will fight for you.” (Exodus 14:14)

That’s good advice for us as well. Be still. Stay home. It’s the most important thing you can do to keep yourself and everyone else healthy.

This crisis is an opportunity. The Covid 19 crisis has given me the chance not only to catch up on my reading, but to reread some of my favorites.  I recently finished rereading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. The book (subtitled “An Indian Tale”) tells the story of Siddhartha, a young man born into privilege who spends his life looking for the ultimate spiritual reality. He is a restless seeker who goes through several stages: brahmin’s son, wandering holy man, and rich merchant. Eventually, he gives up his wealth and wandering and finds peace and enlightenment on the banks of a river as a lowly ferryman. While most people see the river as an obstacle, Siddhartha learns that it is much more than that. As Vasudeva, the other ferryman tells him –

“’I have ferried many across, thousands, and for all of them my river has been nothing but a hindrance in their travels. They traveled for money and business, to weddings and on pilgrimages, and the river was in their way, and the ferryman was there to get them swiftly across that hindrance. But for a few among the thousands, a very few, four or five, the river was no hindrance. They heard its voice, they listened to it, and the river became sacred for them.’

“Siddhartha learned incessantly from the river. Above all, it taught him how to listen, to listen with a silent heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinion.”

Now, I’m not saying that the Coronavirus is sacred. But, I do believe that time is sacred. I believe that this time in particular is sacred. We can see this extraordinary crisis as an obstacle or we can see it is an opportunity: An opportunity to learn how to be still; an opportunity to learn how to be patient; an opportunity to listen for the voice of God behind all of the noise that we create.

It might be helpful to look at this time of enforced quiet as a Lenten discipline. What can you learn from it? It would be a shame to let these strange days go to waste.

God bless you. Stay well.