Good and Happiness in the Time of Chaos

Virtually, the whole world is hunkered down due to the Corona Virus pandemic. The media is doing their very best to let us know how many people have been affected by listing the number of people who are ill, who have tested positive, who are struggling to stay alive and those who have passed over. The symptoms are posted everywhere. Social media is keeping us up to date with any break through. This is a time of great concern for the world as a whole.  As difficult as it may be, I truly would like to focus on the good of all of this. Yes, I am well aware you may have a family member or loved one who has tested positive; or you may be out of work wondering how you will survive; or maybe you live in a region of the world where healthcare is minimal.  Accepting that all of these things are reality for many, I truly believe focusing on them gets us nowhere. 

As I shelter in place, my heart smiles when I see so many people doing so much for so many.  Our health care workers all over the world are doing all they can with little knowledge of this virus and with ever decreasing supplies. Restaurants are finding ways to serve their local populations and stay afloat while doing so. Our waste collection system continues to pick up garbage and yard waste. Groceries are open with employees stocking shelves and helping to keep food in supply. Free classes are being posted on line for children and adults as well as free movies. Celebrities are reading stories and singers are doing what they do best, sing. Many who are fortunate to have a great deal of prosperity are sharing it. Rents are being waived. I could go on and on. 

This is what life is all about. Serving others. Being available. Loving from "6 feet away." Contacting those who might need assistance or just calling to say "hi, how are you?"

So how can we stay positive and see the good and find some happiness? Some ideas:

• 1. Limit your exposure to the constant influx of news from the media.
• 2. Listen to the experts; i.e. the CDC, WHO, scientists, physicians.
• 3. Take care of yourself by getting enough rest, exercise, do that project you've been wanting to do for so long, take up yoga or a new exercise program (videos are available for free.)
• 4. Call someone you haven't talked with for a long time or even yesterday (no texting). 
• 5. Start a gratitude journal. Write down one thing a day for which you are grateful or more. 
• 6. If you don't already, meditate or talk to your Higher Power every day. 

I'm sure you can think of more. Please share with me if you have other ideas. 

Fear can be a breeding ground for this virus. Look for the good, the laughter and the happiness. These two songs might help: 

Be Happy!

Don't Worry by Bobby McFerrin                                                     

Happy by Pharrell Williams

Peace and Blessings 

and 

"be sure to wash your hands and stay home as much as possible."

Mareda

If you are interested in receiving a personal affirmative prayer, 

please email me at maredaeckert1@gmail.com.

A Different Perspective

The world is in a time of crisis. Sometimes that is what we need to readjust our priorities. It isn't fun. It isn't something we choose consciously. It can be a horrible pill to swallow. But maybe there is a blessing involved.  Yes, I know it is not a blessing when people become ill and sometimes shuffle off this earth plane earlier than expected.  Yes, I know it is not a blessing when people find they no longer have a job, nor a paycheck and suffer as a result. Yes, I know all these things.  But...

I am copying and pasting the following from a Facebook page, New Thought Movement Worldwide. It comes from a different perspective, a very different point of view. Maybe, just maybe, this is something we all need to consider. 

An Imagined Letter from Covid-19 to Humans:

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, hurried 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 is 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 distractions, 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, and 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 the 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 an 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 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 this planet with you?

Stop.
Notice if you are resisting.
Notice what 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 that all may be well.
We will help you, if you listen.
❤️

(Author unknown)

On this first day of Spring, remember:

Peace and blessings to all!

Mareda