For me and many of the people I’ve spoken to who are part of the stay-at-home population, it feels like one day is rolling right into the next with not that much changing in any given 24-hour period.
Of course, if we’re working from home or home-schooling our children or are caregivers for our loved ones, the details of each day are numerous and ever-changing.
But it’s the general tone of the day that I’m speaking about...
I’m wondering about that question mark that’s hanging over the planet.
What is this shaking up of the world as we know it ushering in?
What will our personal and collective lives look like in a few months…
And in a few years?
Though there have been a few other pandemics over the last hundred years or so, never before have we experienced the repercussions of a pandemic like the one enfolding the whole of the planet today.
We’ve all felt the effects of the physical, emotional, and financial challenges — either directly or indirectly through our loved ones, our neighbors, and even through stories of people we don’t know.
In Boulder, where I live (and I’m guessing it’s the same where you are), activity has been limited to that which is considered essential.
Most retail shops and restaurants have closed their doors or are open for only limited hours. The business offices near my own office have all been closed for over a month. These people are friends of mine, and they’ve shared with me that they’ve become very concerned about their ability to pay their rents and mortgages.
With all of this happening, and with the unknown answers to that question mark looming, our sensibilities have been shaken to the core.
But all that shaking has cracked something open and left us with a lump of soft clay that we can literally mold into the new, better world we want to see.
I’m already observing so many positives that are coming out of this unique period of time — a true ‘shift’ in how we are perceiving and living our lives.
One of the questions is being answered: How can I help?
My wife, Stephanie, has come to know an older woman named Geraldine who lives in a trailer in North Boulder. Geraldine is mostly incapacitated and needs to be even more careful now.
So instead of going out shopping, she’s staying safe at home and tending to her cats. Stephanie is making regular visits to our neighbor’s home to bring in groceries and help in other ways. Just yesterday she helped Geraldine with the paperwork to apply for food stamps.
We have two friends who are haircutters who’ve been out of work for weeks now, so together with friends of ours, we arranged to help them apply for small business loans provided by the federal government.
I’m sure you have many stories of your own about perspectives shifting and resulting in more and more positive action.
I recently read about a landlord who decided to provide free rent for all his tenants...
A sports team owner who sent his team jet to China to pick up medical supplies and then distributed them widely upon the jet’s return…
A journalist who decided to change his career after witnessing the COVID-19 destruction.
Hearts are opening in service to others here, there, and everywhere!
But what’s really striking to me are the stories about hearts opening to faith, to belief in something more than their ego-selves, to whatever name is given to that which they consider the highest Good.
I call it the Divine.
People I’ve been in touch with for years, who never used to talk about such things, are starting to share openly about their own personal faith and their relationship with the Divine.
They’re spending more time in prayer.
They’re feeling God’s presence with them all throughout the day.
Many are yearning for a more personal relationship with the Divine.
Others tell me they’re starting to listen to their inner voice, their Divine calling — their soul’s purpose — by volunteering on the frontline to help those in need.
This shaking seems to be producing a shifting. It’s paving the way for a more open-hearted way of living. And this shift has the potential to move us into a deeper relationship with the Source of All.
In a word, the shift is creating a more tangible sense of Oneness.
The door of willingness has been opened and we are coming together as one united family with each other, all of Nature, the Earth, and the Divine.
What is shifting for you during this shaking up of what used to be?
I’d love to hear your personal story. If you like the idea, please take a moment to click here so you can share https://www.facebook.com/HumanitysTeamWorldwide/
In service,
Steve
Steve Farrell
Worldwide Executive Director
Humanity’s Team
