Spiritual Reflection, March 22, 2020 10AM

Readings: March 22, 2020: 10 a.m. Spiritual Reflection

Pandemic: Lynn Ungar
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.

And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.

Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.

–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20

Reading: The Courage [and Wisdom] to Stand Still in What is Real Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes

The tiger chasing me is not real.
The fear I am fleeing so well is imaginary.
There is actually no danger.

The palace I strain for so nobly is not real.
My ambitions are a distraction.
There is no treasure there.

My fears and desires drive me,
push and pull, before and behind,
yet they are so small, so small!

How puny my will is compared to yours.
How weak must I become to gain
the infinite strength of your will?

Give me courage to stand still in what is real,
to empty myself of my fears and desires
and be guided instead by your delight.