Reflection
Separated and confined to our houses for mutual protection we realize that this is a situation we have never encountered before. In the midst of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and even the 9/11 attacks we were never isolated from one another, unable to touch one another, fearful of breathing near one another. We have always been able to gather, to help, to give and receive comfort. This is an alien experience and one that goes against our nature. We fear loss and separation. We are realizing that so many things are no longer important. We can live without them. What we can’t live without are the family, friends, and contacts which make life meaningful. When this passes may we not forget.
Prayer
God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2Timothy 1:7
Action
Do what you are asked to do to act responsibly and keep others safe. Be grateful for all those in your life who give it meaning. Do what you can to connect and comfort others.
Suggested Reading
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
Tonight before falling asleep, think about when we will return to the street. When we hug again, when all the shopping together will seem like a party. Let’s think about when the coffees will return to the bar, the small talk, the photos close to each other. We think about when it will be all a memory, but normality will seem an unexpected and beautiful gift. We will love everything that has so far seemed futile to us. Every second will be precious. Swims at the sea, the sun until late, sunsets, toasts, laughter. We will go back to laughing together. Strength and courage.
Pope Francis
Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
Vivian Greene
Life isn’t about getting and having, it’s about giving and being.
Kevin Kruse
The primitive man has one quality, elaborated and maintained by the very necessities of his hard struggle for life – he identifies his own existence with that of his tribe; and without that quality mankind never would have attained the level as it has attained now.
Peter Kropotkin
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Tough times never last, but tough people do.
Robert H Schuller
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life. It goes on.
Robert Frost
I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.
Walt Whitman