In Thursday night’s Dharma Talk, I spoke a bit about the ‘new normal’ and not waiting for things to go back to the way they were to find peace and happiness. Part of the reason I said this is, to be frank, they may never go back to the way they were. And, even if they do, no one honestly knows when that will be.
The other reason is there is a kind of peace and joy that is available to us always – even in the middle of a pandemic. How do we access it? Meditation. Are you interested in learning to meditate? Then stay tuned as I will be live-streaming meditation instruction sometime this weekend.
For now, I present an article based on research that suggests that what we are doing right now will help slow the spread of the virus. Combined with the effects of the summer – direct sunlight and being outdoors helps stop the spread of viruses – this will lead to the false sense that we beat the infection only to have it come back in the fall and crush us.
The article sets up a beautiful dichotomy where, understanding this, we seemingly face two options. One is to let things go back to ‘normal’ the minute the worst is past us, which will lead to millions dying in the fall. The other is to keep practicing social distancing and allow the economy to collapse and social life to come to a halt.
The good news is there is a third option, as there always is. The third option will require awakeness and unity. It will require our government and us to act fast and to act when things seem to be back to ‘normal.’ Will we have enough awareness and unity as a nation to do this? I have my doubts, but I also have hope.
