It seems strange that in this time when I have contact with so few people that I am finding myself without words. You’d think they’d have piled up.
Maybe it’s that I’m getting used to solitude and silence and words seem more precious now, to be “kept for Sunday best.” Or maybe it’s because I see so much straight up hubris that is so irrational that you really can’t argue with it. Or maybe, because I’m tired of having to explain this simple idea, that we’re all connected and by not taking care of others you are hurting yourself.
Last week, I talked about how we really are all one; there’s the Self, and the Other-Self, and that’s it. Anything else is illusion. When I encounter someone who does not share my body, that doesn’t mean they aren’t part of me. We are both part of the same Whole, the Universal Mind, Creator, Source and, for want of a better word, God. We are more than siblings, we are one Self sharing a tiny sliver of Reality in order to experience events, ideas, and things that will help us become a better Whole. Nothing here can be perfect. We are all bad actors for somebody. Remember that. You literally cannot exist as a human without causing harm. You can’t be alive without destroying. Fact.
So this week when I try to put my thoughts into order so I can write something that is helpful or hopeful or meaningful, I find this big empty space where there are usually words. So much has happened, and continues to happen. My slim faith in our government’s commitment to take care of us is obliterated completely. We see cases rising, but our governor says, “Nothing to see here, spend money, go to bars, have a party.” We’re banned from traveling to most of the rest of the world, and way too many people are angry that they dare to keep us out, instead of being angry that we are clearly on a nightmare trajectory to cultural and social chaos.
I’ve been studying the New York Times tracking data, and I can clearly see where at one point Iowa, my state, had a shot at beating this thing, and instead of saying, “Okay, folks, I know it sucks, but we can beat this thing if we just stay home, stay closed, and mask up every time you go out,” our governor decided to reopen restaurants, bars and churches. You can’t eat and drink when you are wearing a mask. And when people drink, they start to talk louder and spit more. And now cases are going up and up and up. Go figger.
I’m with Dr. Fauci, “I don’t know how to explain to you that you should care for other people.”
How can anyone not get this? Aren’t Americans supposed to pull together and get through it no matter what? What the hell happened to that? Oh, right. Orange Foolius.
I know, you have talked yourself blue and can’t get some of the people around you to understand it, and so you either grit your teeth and hope for the best, or stay as far away as you can. Only one of those strategies will actually work, and that sucks, too, because some of the people we have to avoid are family. Nurses and doctors are begging people to wear masks. Every legitimate and trusted health agency in the US is begging people to wear masks. And yet, here we are.
Frienily, we gotta stay strong. We have to step into our power as role models and stand up for our right to wear a mask and protect our Selves and our Other-Selves. I’m protecting those I love and those I really don’t like at all, because they’re all part of me. So are you. Thank you, for wearing a mask. Let’s get this hashtag going: #wearamaskorkissmyass
We’re all in this together because we are all one. Let’s show ’em how it’s done.
