Goodness

The world as we know it has shifted. Everyone has a story of how profoundly life has changed. Yesterday we attended “virtual church,” sitting in front of our computers as we watched Pastor Jennie lead worship before the empty pews. Between social separation and self-quarantining, it would be easy to think that we are distancing from each other more each day.

But even as we physically separate, we are reaching out and making more intentional efforts to connect. Our need for connection and our human goodness are powerful forces, more powerful than any pandemic. Maybe, in fact, more powerful now because of the pandemic. I see rays of light in the responses I’ve received from you, in the photos and notes of encouragement you’ve sent. I see them in the listserv posts and neighborhood chat room messages offering help to strangers. I’m sure that we all have our stories about ways in which we’ve seen kindness and compassion emerge lately.

Here’s a poem that beautifully speaks of these things to me. I hope that you find it uplifting, too. Pastor Jennie read it at the end of her sermon yesterday, and my dearest friend Ruth e-mailed it to me from Mexico the same day, having received it from her friend in Ireland. The message is literally being passed around the world: there is goodness. It is here now. Amen.

(Note: I’ve changed the format slightly to make this easier to read here.)

Lockdown
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes, there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes, there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes, there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes, there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes, there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
        ~Brother Richard Hendrick, OFM Cap.
         March 13th, 2020

And for another reminder of goodness, here’s a special episode of “The Daily” podcast, “This Tom Hanks Story Will Make You Feel Less Bad.” In it, a New York Times writer recalls the time that Tom Hanks comforted her while she was interviewing him. “Contagion is real,” she says, "but it doesn’t just work for viruses. It works for kind words and generous thoughts, and acts of selflessness and honesty.” Thank you to my wonderful niece Kelsy for sending the link to me and encouraging me to share it with all of you. The podcast is 35 minutes long, so curl up with a cup of tea and take a real break with it.  Tom Hanks Interview

Look for the goodness all around you. Thank you all for the goodness you share.

Until tomorrow, be well.

Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma

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