Contemplfiy NonRequired Practice List : Quarantine Edition (March 16, 2020)
Contemplify NonRequired Practice List / Quarantine Edition
Contemplative Friend,
I was supposed to see one of my favorite songwriters, Jeffrey Foucault, this past week. COVID-19 forced the cancellation of his tour. My inbox has been inundated with messages from my bank, coffee shops, Best Buy (how’d they get my email?), and a multitude of service orientated shops all serving up responsible responses to stalling the virus. Good on them. Spiritual teachers have been teeing up their own advice for sustaining a mindful approach in dealing with the fear, anxiety, and self-awareness accompanying COVID19. I hope more teachers follow suit.
Many of us are holing up in our home quarters. You can still see the wet ink drying on the self-written prescriptions of preventative solitude for the sake of the global community. Given the time, I've been able to attend to a few wayward reflections that have been stirring around the Contemplify basecamp, so I thought I would take a swing at offering a contemplative approach to quarantined life.
Social Distancing in a Monastery Without Walls
A new term has entered the global lexicon in the age of unmitigated social media connection. I take the words of one of my teacher's to heart. James Finley speaks of contemplatives being members of a monastery without walls. So despite our physical distance, visit the cell of your heart often, and there you will find your brothers and sisters. When you sit in this stillness, you are in solidarity with contemplatives across the planet, united in healing our fragmented world by the simple practice of attention to the depth of your being. We are alone together. And we are all in this practice together. Send love, send prayers, and be love, be a prayer in our shared monastery.
Responding to Revelations, Rather than Reacting
No, I am not talking about that creative book at the end of the Bible. This virus is revealing what has been laying dormant under the egg shell of normalcy. It's cracked and fear opens up all the ruffled feathers that have been present but ignored. The illusion of control is being seen for it's unreal nature. Pay attention to the questions and worries that arise. For me, it starts with my beloveds - are they safe? Do we have enough food? What are we going to do for the next 3 weeks? Our species has faced pandemics before - how did individuals and communities respond then? The mystic Julian of Norwich may be such a companion for times like these. The fragility of life is present and the spectrum of responses is to be expected. Be gentle with those at whit's end as well as those breezy nay-sayers. You can only be in direct relationship to your response.
For those seeking a concrete practice, check out the Welcoming Prayer. It can help cultivate a loving response to whatever is erupting within. The quarantine offers ample space to muse on how you are living your one wild and sacred life.
Remember Death
The ancient practice of remembering that you will die one day is a keeper. I don't know the hour or the day, but death will meet me with open hands. I am preparing for it by opening my heart to welcome this sister of life.
Death is an unseen companion always hovering over my shoulder. I sense death's presence in the most mundane moments; while I slice apples, prepare coffee, or put my kids to bed. This remembering pauses my rush to get through a task. To cherish the apple wedges in formation. To inhale the fragrance of coffee. To rub my kiddos backs with tender strokes.
We may lose loved ones to this virus. A grievance worth pinning to your heart today. The absurdity and beauty of the life, death, and resurrection path reveals many emotions. I feel them all. And yet, a thin thread of abundant gratitude stitches them all together. A mysterious life and death await. Remember death as life breathes into you today.
No Need to Hurry
Wendell Berry says, "It was the Shakers who were sure the end could come anytime, and they still saved the seeds and figured out how to make better diets for old people. Thomas Merton was interested in the Shakers. I said to him, “If they were certain that the world could end at any minute, how come they built the best building in Kentucky?”
“You don’t understand,” he said. “If you know the world could end at any minute, you know there’s no need to hurry. You take your time and do the best work you possibly can.” That was important to me. I’ve repeated it many times." Do yourself a solid and read the entire interview. (Hat tip to brother Mark)
Celebrate the Front
Here is a video of Spain cheering into the void for all of the healthcare workers giving their all, for the health of all. Sometimes the monastery without walls makes a ruckus everyone can hear. (Hat tip to Matt)
I started the day at Urgent Care with my daughter (for non COVID19 reasons) and ended the day tossing the frisbee with her and my son at sunset. Joy and despair at play in the life of a day. A lucky day, a grace filled day. I bow in gratitude to have had it. In the end, darkness cloaked the day as if saying, enough. Then my beloved and I sang 'This Little Light of Mine' to our rambunctious creatures. We closed with this verse:
You and me together, we're going to let it shine.
You and me together, we're going to let it shine.
You and me together, we're going to let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, we're gonna let our little light shine.
In your quarantine or on the front lines, you and me together, let's let our little lights shine.
We're all in this together,
Paul
P.S. If you were forwarded this NonRequired Practice List, first wash your hands, and if want to sign up to receive the next one, email hello@contemplify.com with the message - sign me up for these contemplative ramblings.