Usually 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
Usually 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. 
