by Debra Basham 05-27-2020
“At This Time”
Right now, where you are, are you aware?
Breathe in and feel connection to all you love
Birds fly and view the world from a higher perspective
Fabulous fruits, decadent desserts, marvelous munchies
Mundane made sacred by joy
Sheer silliness, satiating stillness, somber stoicism
All reaches all, as we relax into All That Is….
At this time
This morning, like almost every other morning since the middle of March, I enjoyed practicing yoga with my dear friend, Kathy. Right now, we are meeting via ZOOM, and recording the videos for her YMCA classes. It does not appear likely that our (mostly senior) students are going to be Studio B any time soon.
Amelia Vogler, Executive Director of HTPA (Healing Touch Professional Association), sent the membership an email message today which included a link to “When Life Is Good Again” which was premiered exclusively on Entertainment Weekly on the 27th of May, 2020.
Dolly Parton was inspired by the COVID-19 quarantine. She told People of the quarantine in April of 2020, “We will come out on the other side of this, and we’re all going to be better people for it. Take care of each other from afar and continue to send love to your friends, family, and everyone suffering.”
I resist grasping at social-distancing being necessary for so long that it no longer feels odd. I resist clinging to the ease of hugging those I want to hug when I want to hug them, meeting for hours of sharing over tea, having a house filled with musicians, and doing jigsaw puzzles with friends.
Dolly’s last stanza says is all:
God’s the reason for all things
You want rainbows, you get rain
We’ll all be forever changed (Forever changed)
I’ll sell my boat and fly my kite
Walk in the park, go out at night
And hold my loved ones extra tight
When everything is on the mend
I’ll even drink with my old friends
Sing and play my mandolin
We’ll make it through this long dark night
Darkness fades when faced with light
But everything’s gonna be alright
When life is good again
The next email message I opened was Alan Seale’s weekly newsletter, also dated May 27, 2020. Forwarded by my friend, Roann Altman, moving home today after having spent these past couple of months quarantined with a friend with cancer. Roann’s friend, Richard, transitioned this week. In the newsletter, Alan quotes Etty Hillesum, a Jewish diarist who lived in Amsterdam and died in Auschwitz in 1943.
Through me course wide rivers
and in me rise tall mountains.
And beyond the thickets
of my agitation and confusion
there stretch the wide plains of my
peace and surrender.
All landscapes are within me.
And there is room for everything.
Yes, there is room for everything in your heart at this time….
