COVID-19 reminds me to recognize that...

Today I am recognizing and appreciating that

Health masks direct me to see others eye to eye

Quiet focuses my hearing
on what people are saying, instrument music, wind through my (remaining) hair, birds singing of spring, bees buzzing about nectar and pollen, rain on metal roofs, footsteps on gravel.

Physical distancing increases my partners warmth in hugs

Sidewalk walkers and chalkers waving, teddy bears in windows, phone calls, and email newsletters tell me I am not alone, or different.

Food deliveries feed my respect for farmers and others in the food chain.

Staying home enriches my observations of our natural world close at hand

Homemade cooking and gifted jams taste better than ever

What I have is not as important as my appreciation of what I have

Being fully where I am beats being anywhere else

Each breath is a blessing.

Temporary if mostly ineffective (bandanna) until Maeve finishes sewing some more effective face masks. 

Thank You, Lord, neighbors, family, friends, acquaintances, and my beloved partner,

for life essentials
I sometimes take for granted
- that so many other
people in the world
lack or struggle to maintain (even in the best of times).

Clean water
Nourishing food
Hot baths & showers
Freedom from persecution
- of choice where to live.

Thank You for the environment of abundant life
with which we humans share this earth.

Thank You for those individuals
who provide health care,
for police, firefighters,
front line folks who keep the essentials available to us all -
Thank You to farmers, store clerks...

Thank You to volunteers
who thread together whatever is missing
including now, face masks, grocery deliveries...

Thank You for compassionate optimists
who understand fear, grief, are normal feelings
while also holding strong, offering kindness, love, support, good cheer
by reaching out to others letting them know they are not alone.

Lord, please help us to appreciate all that you and others have given us,
or helped us achieve, and to appreciate the unique strengths and goodness
in others from which we are able to prosper.

Help us to understand how to enjoy the world we live in
(in hard times as well as in easier times)
and to enjoy life as it unfolds.

Remind us of the value of sharing with others
kindness, and bounty as one big family.

Bernie