Weekend Edition: When This is Over

One of the places I find hope these days is in seeing and experiencing what feels like a real shift toward more kindness and compassion. I feel it in the younger people who clear a path for us when we’re out walking, in the grocery store “shopper” who received our order and stayed in touch with us by text as she filled it, and in the many, many e-mails I see offering help for those who may be at home alone. Then there are the uplifting stories we see in the news. One of the eventual blessings of this painful time may be that we find our way back to what matters most, to the common good rather than “what’s in it for me.” If this crisis has shown us nothing else, it has surely revealed how connected and interdependent we really are.

Here is a prayer that was sent to me by Sister Barbara Kennedy, OSM, a dear friend and one of the founders of The Northwest Catholic Counseling Center, where I did clinical work before I retired. May it be so.

When this is over,
may we never again
take for granted
a handshake with a stranger
full shelves at the store
conversations with neighbors
a crowded theatre
the taste of Communion
a routine checkup
the school rush each morning
coffee with a friend
the stadium roaring
each deep breath
a boring Tuesday
Life itself.
When this ends, may we find
that we have become
more like the people
we wanted to be
we were called to be
we hoped to be
and may we stay
that way – better
for each other
Because of the worst.
                    Laura Kelly Fanucci
   
Until tomorrow, take good care. Rest, recharge, and remember to b-r-e-a-t-h-e. And keep those art pieces coming! I’m looking forward to sending you all a private art show featuring, well, YOU!

Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma

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