A Crown - corona - is usually gold. I think of holiness, authority and responsibility, connection to God, rays of sun touching every atom, a circle resting on top, made of precious metals and jewels. I also think of the element of mineral—of value. Rather than looking for the silver lining of the coronavirus in what is frightening and out of control, I prefer to open my eyes as wide as can be and, with the help of the rays of light shining from the center, look for a gold lining in what looks to be a universal disaster. Gold is the most valuable of minerals; can we find value in Mother Earth’s action of turning the world upside down? Perhaps the gold is the antidote? I do not know but offer this pondering.
The golden lining affords an opportunity to consider how to live life wisely. The predominant trajectory we’ve been on of fast forward movement, endless growth at a pace we cannot keep up with has to stop some way. Throughout cultures and time, God has always hit the reset button when we’ve forgotten the Original Instructions, forgotten to pray, forgotten to give gratitude to all of life, forgotten our ancestors, forgotten to steward our planet, forgotten that there’s enough, equally for everyone, forgotten that greed is a sin.
If we are not doomed, perhaps we’ll be forgiven for the thoughtless misdoings our people have wrought upon this planet. The president characterized this time as akin to 911 except that he said, this time it’s an invisible enemy. Do we really know who our enemy is, ever? Looking in
the mirror, I can be my own worst enemy with my own thoughts and deeds. Perhaps this microscopic creature of a virus is sending a message: “Look at what you’re doing—look deep—look wide—look within”. Usually we look outside to blame. Worldwide we have no defense. Science cannot work fast enough to protect us. We’re sequestered only to find we have only ourselves to look at. There is no blame. This invisible being is trying very hard to get every human being on earths’ attention. Could this invisible foe really be our friend in disguise? A golden lining in the terror? And death doesn’t get the short end of the stick but is revered as a natural part of life to get us back on track with the natural cycle? This feels like the end of an era of man pretending to be God and I’m strangely excited to see it through!
Moving fast forward as we’ve done for the last fifty years has given us little time for introspection. With that trajectory, we’ve gone further and further away from the natural cycle and rhythm of life. The virus is interestingly a circular ball with rays of light extending off of it...what if it is here to bring us back into balance with the world?
It’s remarkable that the main deterrent to attracting this minuscule friend (or foe, depending on how you want to look at him/her/they) is water, and soap. “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”, I’ve heard this all of my life. How clean? Have we been telling the truth? Meanness has become normalized. Polarization has trumped community. When did we forget the values we were raised with and the moral acuity we learned growing up? Could the hot water and bubble treatment be a metaphor for cleaning up our act as human beings? Is Covid19 really the ray of sunshine that gives us the ability to see what is hidden in the dark and what we’ve ignored? I continue to ponder.
What to do now? Sit at the Fire. Listen deeply to spirit, to the land. Sing. Listen to music. Get out in nature. Go for walks. Call your parents, your family, your friends; make amends. Do a life review. Time to come clean, clean house. Pray. Give thanks. Love one another. Find the precious gold in the lining of your life.