Remember to Breathe: Grace in the Time of Corona

When we focus on the unborn future—that which is not current time reality—we allow ourselves to be sucked into the vortex of fear….

I can feel it. In you. In me. It’s like a breath caught and suspended in our individual and collective throats. I originally wrote and posted the following on Facebook. It resonated with folks. And, I keep returning to the post’s message in my thoughts amid these tense times. I heard today that in America, we are experiencing four crises currently: the coronavirus, racial, political, and climate….Remember your breath. Remember to breathe. Many meditation practices teach us about breath. Returning to our breath; taking deep breaths; inhale, exhale. *Consciously* breathing coaxes us back to all we truly have: this one Now moment. Breathe….

Wednesday evening musings.

It’s dripped a steady, cold rain throughout the day.

It’s not yet 6:30 as I type this. And, as Grace says: “It’s doc outside.”

I’ve watched the daylight hours trickle lower minute by minute day to day, making me schedule my park forest communes sooner and sooner. Yet, none of that today.

The twinkle lights are on. Acoustic guitar is serenading from Spotify. My belly is warm and full for the moment with a hot cacao reishi elixir that someone gave me and that I mixed with a heated and foamed nut milk.

Today was complicated. Our one worker was unwell. We could not find a job coach substitute. I didn’t get much work done. And, I’m struggling to do some basics….Midday, to her father’s home I drove Grace through bizantine Williamson county traffic alternately stalled and sputtering by some interstate disaster.

These times are tricky. These times are hard.

But, there’s always the silence of the night, the drip-drip of the rain, the stillness of the forest. Remember, friends, to concentrate on all the little things. All the little things that are well.

It’s not easy, but dwell not on what could go wrong. That’s a sure way to take yourself from present peace. One day. One moment. One step at a time.

What are you grateful for in this one now moment? It’s this one now moment at a time, moment by moment, that is all we have, indeed. Savor it. Scour your landscape for something if it’s not readily perched on your conscious mind. It’s there. Let it deepen the well of your heart. Let that well brim. Let it be ready to quench you when all else seems to be going to hell.

Love. Love yourself. Love your friends. Love your family. Love your enemies. Yep. Even them….

We will get through this.