~ Reflection on COVID19, Impermanence and Interdependence ~
Chances are you are experiencing fear, sadness, frustration, grief, anxiety or other difficult emotions at the moment. I know I am. Most days, I feel as if I am in the middle of a tsunami, trying to surf the waves as best I can. Emotions arise and fall away, transforming into new ones, or into ruminations and repetitive thinking about what might happen next.
In these wild times, I find that mindfulness meditation is like an anchor or a rock. It steadies and it calms me. Dipping into the great well of stillness inside helps me to re-connect with what I know to be real and true, including basic goodness, the impersonal nature of the universe, and the spiritual companionship of others.
But most of all, the COVID19 pandemic is a powerful reminder of impermanence and interdependence.
Impermanence, and hence radical uncertainty, become impossible to ignore in times like this. Right now, they are slapping us in the face and saying “Wake Up!” Our usual routines and habits can no longer deliver the same sense of security they provided in the past. The social and economic systems that we have relied on to look after us are no longer so dependable. Everyday life is being up-ended in ever changing and challenging ways.
However, if you reflect deeply on impermanence, you'll discover that it is always present; It is one of the fundamental truths of existence. We don't notice it much because we have constructed our lives in ways that avoid this fact. We don't want to experience impermanence because it feels scary, unsafe, and even threatening. We do whatever we can to pretend that life is more-or-less stable and unchanging. We crave the certainty that routines, habits and other 'things' we rely on provide in normal times.
As painful and difficult as it is to be in this situation, it offers us an opportunity to get to know impermanence better. To tolerate it, to understand it, and to allow this basic truth to be - without trying to avoid it or ignore it. This is a great way to prepare ourselves for the radical uncertainty of our own mortality, whenever that happens. Seen this way, the pandemic provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop our awareness and deepen our spiritual practice.
Similarly, the fundamental truth of interdependence has become much more obvious. From the likely first case of COVID19 in Hubei province last November to today's pandemic affecting billions of people around the world, it is clear how closely we are connected with each other. Interdependence is also evident in the ways that communities and individuals everywhere are stepping up to help each other. There is no denying that we are all connected.
Just as what's happening provides an opportunity to get to know impermanence, it also offers a chance to become more familiar with interdependence. We are all in this together and, as we are witnessing, no one is an island - to modify John Donne's well-known quote.
So in addition to seeing this crisis as danger, can we see it as opportunity? An opportunity for awakening and for seeing life as it truly. Can we experience the freedom and lightness that comes from embracing impermanence? Can we experience the love and compassion that comes from recognizing our interdependence?
This, like everything else, is uncertain, but the invitation we are being offered is to try this, together.
In these wild times, I find that mindfulness meditation is like an anchor or a rock. It steadies and it calms me. Dipping into the great well of stillness inside helps me to re-connect with what I know to be real and true, including basic goodness, the impersonal nature of the universe, and the spiritual companionship of others.
But most of all, the COVID19 pandemic is a powerful reminder of impermanence and interdependence.
Impermanence, and hence radical uncertainty, become impossible to ignore in times like this. Right now, they are slapping us in the face and saying “Wake Up!” Our usual routines and habits can no longer deliver the same sense of security they provided in the past. The social and economic systems that we have relied on to look after us are no longer so dependable. Everyday life is being up-ended in ever changing and challenging ways.
However, if you reflect deeply on impermanence, you'll discover that it is always present; It is one of the fundamental truths of existence. We don't notice it much because we have constructed our lives in ways that avoid this fact. We don't want to experience impermanence because it feels scary, unsafe, and even threatening. We do whatever we can to pretend that life is more-or-less stable and unchanging. We crave the certainty that routines, habits and other 'things' we rely on provide in normal times.
As painful and difficult as it is to be in this situation, it offers us an opportunity to get to know impermanence better. To tolerate it, to understand it, and to allow this basic truth to be - without trying to avoid it or ignore it. This is a great way to prepare ourselves for the radical uncertainty of our own mortality, whenever that happens. Seen this way, the pandemic provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop our awareness and deepen our spiritual practice.
Similarly, the fundamental truth of interdependence has become much more obvious. From the likely first case of COVID19 in Hubei province last November to today's pandemic affecting billions of people around the world, it is clear how closely we are connected with each other. Interdependence is also evident in the ways that communities and individuals everywhere are stepping up to help each other. There is no denying that we are all connected.
Just as what's happening provides an opportunity to get to know impermanence, it also offers a chance to become more familiar with interdependence. We are all in this together and, as we are witnessing, no one is an island - to modify John Donne's well-known quote.
So in addition to seeing this crisis as danger, can we see it as opportunity? An opportunity for awakening and for seeing life as it truly. Can we experience the freedom and lightness that comes from embracing impermanence? Can we experience the love and compassion that comes from recognizing our interdependence?
This, like everything else, is uncertain, but the invitation we are being offered is to try this, together.