By Fr. Richard Hendrick, as shared by Pace e Bene Season for Nonviolence
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise you can HEAR the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet the sky is no longer thick with FUMES but blue and clear.
They say that in Italy people are SINGING to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may HEAR the sounds of families around them.
They say that in the West of Ireland a young woman is spreading fliers with her number through the neighbourhood so that the elders may have someone to call on.
All over the world people are SLOWING DOWN and reflecting and looking at their neighbours in a NEW WAY.
All over the world people are waking up to the reality of how big we really are, to our interconnectedness and to how little control we really have.
Waking up to what really matters, to the power of prayer, meditation, kindness, caring and Love.
So we pray and remember that while there is fear, there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation but there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is sickness but there does not have to be disease of the soul.
And yes there is pain, suffering and death but there can always be a rebirth of community, peace, harmony and love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live today and now.
Breathe
Listen
Pay attention.
The birds are singing,
the sky is clearing and Love
always encompasses us.
Open the windows of your soul and though you may not be able to touch across the empty square......
SING and give thanks for your life and all you have.