There are thousands of courageous people on the front lines of this coronavirus pandemic. The epicenter in the United States is currently New York City. I live a long way from there but I have many friends who live there. I was born in Manhattan many years ago. My Mom was born there too. She grew up in a walkup in Jackson Heights. When I saw this tweet by Governor Cuomo tonight on Twitter it really grabbed me. I’ve been very impressed with Governor Cuomo’s leadership in the midst of this chaos. I pray everyday and especially for the people of New York. I hope you’ll pray for them too. New Yorkers are tough. They have to be. I’m saluting the folks who put this video together.
I do not see the road ahead
One of my favorite Thomas Merton quotes begins, “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.” That’s certainly true now in this global pandemic. What should I be doing? How much distance do I put between me and the virus. Am I washing my hands enough. Have I touched a surface where the virus is living? I did my best to avoid people today and that took on a different walking route than I have been on in a number of years.
Today I found myself walking along the railroad tracks in our village. These tracks were once a part of the Pennsylvania Rail Road. Now the tracks are part of the Western New York and Pennsylvania Rail Road. There’s the main north and south track and a siding which today was occupied by tanker cars. Looking south the tracks approached the horizon and invited me to think of what lay beyond.
What does lay beyond this present moment that we are living in? The world is already different than it was just thirty days ago. We are living in a way that none of us have every lived before. Will this be the new normal? I dare say we will never return to what was.
My Dad told me that when he was a boy in the 1930’s the King and Queen of England came through Franklinville on this road bed. I’m sure the tracks have been replaced since then. If these tracks could talk what would they say.
We thirst for you in this dry and weary land
Last night on my way home I turned to look at the setting sun and snapped this picture. There is no special filter but a beam of light appears to be streaming from the sun toward me. It’s my habit to pray as I walk and my prayers had focused on the pandemic and those who are the caretakers along with those who are suffering and dying. There is a time in all prayer when I have to ask myself “Is there a higher power” who really cares? Do these prayers make a difference? I read the psalms from time to time and often there is a conversation implied. One of my favorites is Psalm 63 which was written by David in the Desert of Judah.
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. –
Psalm 63
The psalm is about being stranded in the desert away from one’s family. There’s a connection for me with the psalm. Many times in my life when I have felt alone and afraid I have turned to this psalm and read it again. The beam of light in the photo invited a connection too. It signified an answer to prayer.
Is this the apocalypse?
Tonight as we were eating dinner my wife shared of when she was a little girl who grew up in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis. She said she often wondered if someday she’d come home and someone would have started a nuclear war. I grew up in those times too. We had civil defense drills in school. We’d be instructed to hide under our desks or place our heads next to the corridor wall to protect us from the blast. Families and schools built “fallout shelters” and they were stocked with blankets and other emergency items to ensure we survived the unthinkable aftermath of nuclear war.
That was almost sixty years ago. The threat of nuclear war loomed over all of us who grew up in the post World War II 1950’s and 1960’s. There was the Berlin buildup, Vietnam and the peace movement. Then the roaring 80’s of Reaganomics and a possible clash with the Russians. The threat of nuclear war loomed briefly once again. There were low grade wars in the middle east because of our addiction to oil. Thousands of Americans lost their lives along with hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s and other residents of the lands we fought on. The all volunteer force allowed most Americans the luxury of not having to be involved. Shared sacrifice was replaced with glib, “thank you for your service.” We could be distant and cold to the needs of the poor, the marginalized and to the planet itself.
There were the prophets who warned us there was a day of reckoning in the future. It was our children and grand-children who would pay the price of our disconnection with the planet and with each other. Politicians told us that we could not afford to disrupt our economy to address the needs of the planet. We ignored violent tornadoes, one hundred year floods that occurred with increasing severity, fires that burned out of control and threatened entire ecosystems.
Now we are in the grip of a pandemic that threatens the existence of our civilization. We are locked down in our homes. Afraid to to touch our neighbors or worse yet breathe on them. Doctors and nurses are dying to save us. We, in the richest country on earth lack adequate medical supplies and infrastructure to save our citizens. The cost in human life is immense. One expert today suggested that 200,000 people in the United States alone will perish. The world wide total will be in the millions. There is no known cure for the virus. Is this the apocalypse? Our vast weapons systems that cost trillions of dollars are powerless to stop the pandemic. Our military is infected and faces a threat they’ve never known. Field hospitals are being setup all over the country and the world to care for those who need them.
Yesterday as I walked in the woods near my home I saw deer who crossed my path. There were some robins too. There were some beautiful flowers along the trail. I wondered if I would be here next year to see them. Will this be my final spring? Will this be our final spring? Be sure to tell the people around you that you love them. Make sure your affairs are in order. There are no guarantees. Make peace with each other and with the planet. Live simply so others can simply live. Pray for each other even for those you don’t like.
Where is it all going?
In the past two weeks I’ve found myself wondering where will this end? How much suffering will we have to endure. Many have endured too much already. Pope Francis has led two worldwide prayer times and so have countless others. I find that as I walk I’m constantly praying for or thinking of others. I asked God to place the names and faces of people who needed a prayer today in my mind. One of those I prayed for was Amy Klobuchar’s husband. Later I learned that his condition is improving. I prayed for President Trump, Governor Cuomo and other local and national leaders. I prayed for healthcare professionals and members of our own family.
It seemed overwhelming but my spirits were buoyed by the presence of Brother Sun. The brightness and warmth were wonderful today. It reached nearly 65F here today. I took two walks and logged a bit over five miles. Though I was socially distant I was spiritually connected to the community I live in and the world that surrounds us. I found a quote by Thomas Merton that helped to put things in perspective.
“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”
― Thomas Merton
I’m trying to embrace the present moment with all its possibilities and challenges with enough courage, faith and hope.
There is a time
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: – Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a time for everything. There is a time for winter and there is a time for spring. Today the temperature reached over 60°F where I live and the sun shone brightly. Despite the bad news that surrounds us there is good news and there is new growth. The trees are budding and flowers are beginning to emerge from the earth. Children were riding their bicycles and sometimes the distance didn’t seem appropriate. Nonetheless I kept my distance and walked along. As I walked I prayed and tried to focus the energy of my prayers toward our planet and the people on it.
One of the blessings of today was to find a lovely crocus blooming along the trail that I walk. Crocuses come in many colors but my favorite is purple. There along the trail this morning was this lovely crocus inviting me to take its picture.
Thank you Governor Cuomo
Like most Americans I’ve been reading about the Coronavirus lately and it’s largely distressing information. I’m grateful we have good government in New York State that is doing what it can to contain the virus and keep the public informed of what is going on. I follow Governor Cuomo on Twitter and Facebook and he’s been very good about sharing how the state is dealing with the pandemic. I encourage all of us to take time to send positive energy to our first responders and other public servants in our midst who are working hard to keep us safe.