STAYING CENTERED: No Matter What!
The headline is from a new booklet published by Unity Worldwide Ministries as a reminder that “In any circumstance, it is possible to be creative and resilient!” This is a thought that is important to remember. As I write this article I realize it has been almost an entire year since we entered the lockdown precipitated by the COVID-19 outbreak. I think I was lucky in that I was unaware of the fact it would be this long before we were able to sense an end to the shutdown might be possible.
I spent most of the first few months in a kind of denial. I had read something on Facebook (always a reliable source! Ha!) about the psychic Sylvia Browne predicting a pandemic in 2020 that would sweep the world, but then disappear as fast and as mysteriously as it started. Even though my rational mind is always skeptical about predictions, etc. some little part of me wanted to believe it was “just going to disappear.” But as the months dragged on, my belief in “magic” faltered. I began to realize that we were in a quandary, and that it was going to last as long as it lasted. I just had to have faith that there was a deeper purpose.
And so, our family continued to mask up, to cancel travel plans, to stay home rather than going to restaurants, to participate in Zoom meetings, and to have a sense of danger when we dared to break the rules and talk to someone outside our immediate family unmasked. We closed out the home of Tom’s brother Allan, had a rummage sale and got him moved into Hillside Manor safely. Later in the summer, we also were exposed to COVID, tested, quarantined, exposed again and quarantined again in December. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, church services, participated in an election, and mourned the passing of friends: all in different ways that had been beyond our imaginations before. Through it all we were supported and blessed by the power of Spirit within. Our Unity family and the prayer team was with us every step of the way. And our continuing practice of Unity teachings and A Course in Miracles made it possible for us to trust that, indeed, “God goes with us wherever we go.”
While it feels a little too early to entirely believe that we gained something from COVID, we have come to a deeper understanding of the goodness of God as expressed through friends and family. We have learned how important hugs are, as well as singing in church, and sharing a meal together fearlessly. To quote a Unity booklet: “The presence of God is always available and our good is unfolding all the time.”
May you have a blessed Easter, full of the joy of the resurrection and return of the Light!
Linda Andrus, your Licensed Unity Teacher