An Imagined Letter from Covid-19 to Humans

covid-19Usually I write my newsletters a month or so in advance, so it seems that some of them are not very relevant to the world we find ourselves in today.

It changes by the week, the day, even the minute. Many, maybe most of us, are self-isolated wondering what happens next, dealing with the fear and uncertainty that accompanies this strange new world. 

I came across the letter below, an Imagined Letter from Covid-19 to Humans that may offer some perspective, maybe even some solace. I deeply honor the author, Krystin Flyntz for sharing this.  It has opened my eyes. I suggest you read this out loud. Stop. Close your eyes for a moment, then read it again. It has great power and a message for all humankind.

 Blessings,

Kathleen

 

Stop. Just stop

It is no longer a request.

It is a mandate.

We will help you.

We will bring the supersonic, high speed merry-go-round to a halt.

We will stop

the planes

the trains

the schools

the malls

the meetings

the frenetic, furied rush of illusions and
“obligations” that keep you from hearing our single and shared beating heart,

the way we breathe together in unison.
Our obligation to each other,

As it has always been, even if, even though, you

have forgotten.

We will interrupt this broadcast, the endless

Cacophonous broadcast of divisions and distraction

To bring you this long-breaking news:

We are not well.

None of us; all of us are suffering.

Last year, the firestorms that scorched the

Lungs of the earth

Did not give you pause. Nor the typhoons in Africa, China, Japan.

Nor the fevered climates in Japan and India.

You have not been listening.

It is hard to listen when you are so busy all the

time hustling to uphold the comforts and

conveniences that scaffold your lives.

But the foundation is giving way,

buckling under the weight of your needs and desires.

We will help you.

We will bring firestorms to your body

We will bring the fever to your body

We will bring the burning, searing and flooding

to your lungs that you might hear:

We are not well.

Despite what you might think or feel,  we are

Not the enemy.

We are the Messenger. We are Ally. We are a

balancing force.

We are asking you

To stop, to be still, to listen;

To move beyond your individual concerns and

Consider the concerns of all;

To be with your ignorance, to find your

Humility, to relinquish your thinking minds and

travel deep into the mind of the heart;

To look up into the sky, streaked with fewer

Planes, and see it, to notice its condition:

clear, smoky, smoggy, rainy? How much do you need it

to be healthy so that you may also be healthy?

To look at a tree, and see it, to notice its

condition: how does its health contribute to the

health of the sky, to the air you need to be

healthy?

To visit a river, and see it, to notice its condition: clear,

clean, murky, polluted? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also

be healthy? How does its health

contribute to the health of the tree, who

contributes to the health of the sky, so that you may also be healthy?

Many are afraid now.

Do not demonize your fear, and also do not let it

rule you. Instead, let it speak to you–in your

stillness. Listen for its wisdom.

What might it be telling you about what is at

work, at issue, at risk, beyond the threats of

Personal inconvenience and illness?

As the health of a tree, a river, the sky tells you

About the quality of your own health, what might

the quality of your health tell you about the

health of the rivers, the trees, the sky, and all

of us who share the planet with you?

Stop.

Notice if you are resisting.

Ask why.

Stop. Just stop.

Be still.

Listen.

Ask us what we might teach you about illness

And healing, about what might be required so

All may be well.

We will help you, if you listen.

–Kristin Flyntz

h/t Erika M. Harrison