Finding our way in the dark
I got up out of bed and found myself in a corner. I couldn’t see in the dark so I touched the walls for a few moments unable to find the door to make my way to the bathroom. It was a helpless feeling, being in my own home, in my own bedroom, unable to get where I needed to go.
I backed up so the back of my legs touched the corner of the bed. Then I immediately knew where the door was, even in the dark. I was reoriented because of that touchstone, that reference point.
The days are dark right now. The immense threat of the coronavirus is always running in the background. Horrible acts of racism have left individuals dead without justice. Protests to those killings are destroying property and any sense of peace. We are sympathetic, we are afraid, we are disturbed.
We want touchstones, reference points. We all have them somewhere in our lives: truth, divine presence, relationships that reorient us when we are disoriented. That is what we want when we are disoriented, to get "back to normal." But will we get back to normal? Should we get back to what has been normal?
One benefit of being older is that I have lived a lot of life. I’ve seen disasters come and go. Leaders have done dramatic things, made great changes (for good and bad), and then left the stage, leaving some people panicked. But institutions go on. Most people survive. It usually doesn’t kill us.
There is a truth about crisis, however, to remember right now. Crisis is the most open and tender time for change. Decisions made in times of crisis can have greater impact than those at times of calm. In crisis our would is crying out, “things can't stay like this!” Change will happen because that is the nature of crisis.
What will you do? You can lead. You may impact the world. Your life will go one way or another because of choices you make in times of crisis. What direction do you want to see things go?
It is tempting to sit back and do nothing. Many will also choose to deny and to blame others.
1. I will not deny the real threat of the coronavirus, nor that racism is real and deadly.
2. I mourn the losses from the coronavirus and of racism.
3. I will work to stand with those who do not have the privileges I have. And this will be a marathon, not a sprint.