03/19/2020
I love this and the reminder that we are all in this together. Please be kind to yourselves and others. Also consider the idea that as we move through the day, that every word we read, every conversation we have with others about what is being reported on TV, social media, etc may result in the development of an unhelpful, fear inducing feedback loop/thought pattern in our minds. That pattern is then being even more strengthened and potentially reinforced by the addition of even more news reports and conversations that we are involved in which then can incite fear/panic and lead to bothersome physical sensations often associated with anxiety.
Whatever we humans focus on, our minds will take action to then direct us towards. It is as though the thought we are having about what we believe could happen is then physically and emotionally experienced by our mind and body as though there is something close by that is going to cause us pain and harm to our safety. Our bodies will then respond to our minds sensing the “threat of impending danger,” by then preparing to take action to either fight against the threat or to quickly get away from it in order to stay safe. Unfortunately, there is nothing at the time we would need to actually run from or fight against as the threat exists in response to a thought /feedback loop that our minds created and was then intensified through repetition and exposure to something we experienced as unfamiliar,unsettling, and perhaps painful. What we are then left with is adrenaline moving through our bodies rather than the adrenaline being able to be discharged by us physically moving as nature had intended for humans once our threat system had been activated. The ongoing repetition of the ill timed activation of the threat system can result in distress and lead to isolating/withdrawal, lashing out at others, increased substance use, self harm, eating for comfort, etc. The ongoing activation of our threat system over an extended period of time and the affects of “stuck” adrenaline will create physical and emotional challenges for us.
Our minds are capable of amazing things including our being able to recreate the feelings and sensations which we associate with pleasure and comfort. We are literally able to recreate and reactivate a memory. As we picture or describe something, we are then able to notice the experience of having the accompanying physical sensations associated with the memory. You can literally recreate the experience of feeling a hug just by thinking of the idea of being hugged by someone that you love. Human beings are able to activate memories and then experience sensations we would associate with both pain and pleasure.
In this gal’s very humble opinion, we benefit from becoming more aware of the words we are hearing, reading, and using because those words will have the potential of shaping our reality, for better or for worse. Choose wisely and consider words that have to do with how you aspire to be as we move through all of this.
Lockdown
by Br. Richard Hendrick, priest-friar of the Irish branch of the Capuchin Franciscan Order.
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
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 grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
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 family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
Is busy spreading fliers with her number
Through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
Are preparing to welcome
And shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a New way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
To touch across the empty square,
Sing.
