THE ENEMY IS NOT YOU!

Shhhh, it’s not you and it probably isn’t him and no way, is it her…  But dear god, I want it to be someone or something so all this fear, all this anxiety and all this frustration can be turned into anger, rage and self-righteousness.  And if I can attack some thing, some institution, some person then I can control IT and IT will go away.

No, you are not the enemy, your post is not the enemy and I am not your enemy.  And somewhere in this swirling pit of information is the truth… a pure, unadulterated truth.  The enemy is a novel virus – a new, highly contagious, debilitating and often fatal virus. 

And in all of this back and forth, we should be directing our attention to the real enemy and be unified in our desire for a successful treatment and a cure.  We should be unified in our support of those essential workers keeping us fed, working in hospitals and healthcare facilities and studying the disease in laboratories searching for a cure.  Our enemy is a virus, not you.

Somewhere we lost that.  Somewhere all lives don’t matter.  Somewhere our fear turned into anger and our concern for others dwindled.  Yes, your opinion counts!  And opinions are just that – a personal reflection on something or person.  This is an opinion.  And if an opinion quotes or references facts, then those facts should be true.

There is no Uniter right now.  There is no person rising to the top to unite us against this enemy.  (OK, I do love Governor Cuomo’s daily briefings but that is NY.)  Our enemy is a virus, not you, not them.

It is fear that is driving all this division and finger pointing.  It may be the fear of dying, of getting sick, of losing a loved one, of loss of income, of loss of freedom that is driving this anger, this need to make some thing, some person the enemy.  Our enemy is a virus, not you, not them.

Are people making the right decisions?  We cannot know in the here and now.  This enemy is unknown, novel…  it’s wrath is unfolding.  Is science and medicine perfect, without mistakes?  No, but when faced with the unknown, the process of discovery has a long and successful history.  They are not the enemy, a virus is…

I don’t profess knowing what the solution is or how to bring harmony back into popularity.  What I do know is that you are not the enemy, and even if I disagree with your opinion, the enemy is the virus.  The robber of everything that used to be normal is not a human or an institution; the thief is COVID-19.

Unite against the enemy and not against your neighbor.  Demand honesty in your facts, research your posts and above all, know that the enemy is a virus and the thief is COVID-19.

SOMETIMES YOU JUST WANT TO SCREAM, 'SHUT UP!'

I've been home bound since 3/14/2020 and my dear sweet hound has a developed a piercing whine...  She wants to go out and knows that I'm not going to stop work to do so...  And, like a toddler, that whine gets more intense, more piercing and pathetic until I put my phone on mute and scream, "SHUT UP!'

Right now, today and every moment, I feel that same anger rising and I just want to scream, "SHUT UP!' to so, so many people - the Covid-19 deniers, under-players, the just let them die so we can't get back to normal folk, the "it's a media construction meant to destroy the current President" and those racially motivated attackers.  Yeah, I've reached my limit.

I am an Interfaith Minister.  My Vow is simple:

I stand for Peace.  I will not be silent on what I see are injustices.  I vow to remain humble and honor that I am not always right.  I vow to use my words carefully to raise these issues up to the light so that they can be seen and heard.  I vow to use my energies to encourage others to think critically, to question a "reality" that may not be defined by what is in their heart and to guide them to be the change they want in the themselves and the world.

It is this Vow that prompts me to comment on social media posts and it is this Vow that pushes me to write this post.  And it is my Seminary training that encourages me to see others just as they are, to accept differences and to guide spiritual growth as directed by the one wanting to grow. It is this Vow and my training that are battling for dominance... 'cause I want to scream - just SHUT UP!

Here is another conundrum...  I am angry at myself for finally allowing myself to be so angry.  I keep wanting to select the non-existent WTF button on so many posts.  And yes, I want to scream, really scream when the President and his cronies speak.  My anger towards those who do not see anything wrong in what he is doing has become palpable.  

And do you know what, that anger is like a high school crush... it is highly unlikely to ever go anywhere but random words written on the cover of a school book.  It just emotion swirling in the ethos, never landing but always an ache felt in a deep emptiness.  

There are so many things I can rant about but today brought two very similar themes - one from an evangelical preacher and another from an agnostic.  They are not the only ones floating this on the internet.  I use them because they are at opposite ends of the spiritual scale.  

You see, they believe that there is some media conspiracy to bring the economy down, to hurt the President's re-election, that the flu has killed more than COVID-19, that the shelter-in-place orders are overkill and should be removed and let people go back to work and if people die, so be it - people die all the time. That is it in a nutshell.

Now where is the WTF button again?  Right, this is a writing, not a Facebook post. 

The anger bubbles like lava with an eruption nearby.  Then the Minister in me kicks in...  Maybe I'm wrong.  What if they are right? Hmmm, what would be a good test of their belief?  Got it!

If you are willing to volunteer one weekend as a receptionist in an Emergency Room and are willing to support doctors, nurses, respiratory therapist who are actively putting their lives at risk in a COVID-19 unit.  And if you actually do it, then I will honor you even if I still don't agree with you.  By volunteering, you are actually saying that you may die and are willing to die for the economy.   

Those people who "die all the time" should not be the health care workers who have no choice but to show up and who will show up if its you who ends up in the ICU.  They won't be cavalier with your life even if you want to be cavalier with theirs.  And, the anger in me doesn't want you to have it both ways.

And it is that anger that drives me to prayer.  I pray for kindness - that you are kind, that you may not believe but you will act-as-if just in case to save my brother, niece, cousin and sister and all those other folks working to save you.  

I pray for compassion - to know that all of this negativity, name calling and blustering is rooted in fear.  You may be fearing the loss of money and others something else.  

And I pray for peace - that my anger is just a phase of loss, that I can be a vehicle for love even if I am a human with human feelings.  

Mostly, I pray to end suffering - the agnostic's, the preacher's, the sick and all the ramifications of this disease and all the suffering that came before COVID-19 which still exists.  

Now, don't get me started on the culture of extreme positivity...  Right - end with prayers for peace - we got this!

HEY, WARRIOR GODDESS

In class today we were given a writing prompt (channeled writing)…  Write a letter or a song to the Divine Feminine and here was mine:

Dear Warrior Goddess,

Yeah, I'm writing to you.  You know that I love the thought of a powerful Warrior Goddess who stands tall, ready to save otherS - to protect and to serve.  That is a thought I love to think.

My issue and yes, this is what is coming up... is why can you not help us women see how we women limit ourselves in speech and mannerisms?

Why is it that we can't seem to elect a powerful Women Goddess like yourself?  Why is it that all of us - women too - see some unreachable standard that we measure everyone one up to?  Why is it Warrior Goddess that you don't show us that we are  what we should be?  Why don't you show us that beauty isn't something that leads, that strength and courage comes from within?

And yet, Warrior Goddess, we all want that power, all that strength, all that protection, the smarts and motherliness in a package that is also young, thin and beautiful?  Why can't you show us, Warrior Goddess, that being a women is power and beauty in itself.

What happened to us? I get that we, as women, are not all the same but Warrior Goddess can you not help us to come together for good.  And Warrior Goddess, at least please teach us not to hurt one another...

May there be peace, may there be wholeness and may there love...  Just sayin'

Suzanne