PANDEMIC

 

PANDEMIC

 

Perhaps it was to be expected, as we began to unleash the raw elements of the universe with no real idea of what to expect. Or could it be that some of us did know but didn't really care? 

 After all we are living in a virtual world these days where anything is possible with little left to the imagination. Reality is merely a click away.

So here we are after three years of mismanagement leading to a catastrophic hole being punctured in our society, our beliefs thrown aside, and our sacred institutions rippled apart and cast asunder.

I fear that we have opened Pandora's Box big time and it will take decades to resolve our deliberate mistakes. The dragons of hatred are burning with a fury that has not been seen since the holocaust. Racism and Bigotry have been unleashed , and even encouraged.

Global warming, economic inequality,  social injustice, and a Pandemic the likes of which we have not seen in a millennium, all contributing to the apocalyptic times that we must navigate.

 It has been said that there is no future without a past, but the past is sometimes a culmination of missteps that, whether deliberate or accidental, must be realized and dealt with in order to move on in the right direction.

Fortunately for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, hopefully to keep the balance of the universe intact. If not than we are lost.

Could it be that the simple answer to our dilemma is love? In the words of the Buddha - "happiness can be achieved only by practicing love. Without love, there is no happiness, and true happiness comes from true love. The true unconditional love overwhelms your heart and it has power to heal while bringing deep meaning into our lives".

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows one, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the wagon.

And on that thought I would like to share a quote from Kahil Gilbram -
"You may forget with whom you laughed, but you will never forget with whom you wept."

As an Aquarian born under an air sign, I have always been intrigued by the "Ages" of the Zodiac, their special powers and their place in the grand scheme of the Universe itself.

The Yin and Yang of the millions of diverse yet amazingly combatable particles and energy's that make up our solar system, and the other millions as well, are truly amazing.

When ever there is a transition, whether it be mental, physical, or spiritual there is an accompanying chaos that must occur in order to facilitate that change. Hence we see it happening in real time now as we survey the aftermath of our radical times.

2016 - The year it all started to fall apart.

A new era of greed and corruption began to gain momentum as the newly elected administration began to dismantle rules and regulations that, up until then were held sacred. Constraints were lifted so that the wealthy could get richer more quickly, at the expense of the poor and middle classes.

It was actually during the Regan administration that things began to change for the worse. The idea of trickle down economics never did make much sense to me as "water usually dries up before it gets all the way down". Enough said.

After several decades of maneuvering ways to avoid corporate tax breaks, downsizings, outsourcing and de-contenting our economy began to show signs of ware and tear. In addition we had been through several "recession/depressions". Our infrastructure had been neglected for two decades, and moral compasses had become corrupted. Enter disillusionment, discontent and despair.

What happens when a society looses its direction and leadership becomes corrupted? It becomes frightened and confused.  In the midst of a deadly virus and incompetent leadership chaos prevails. Old hatreds reemerge - racism, bigotry raise they ugly heads.

Thankfully we got a reprieve for the moment and now, if we get ourselves together, there looks to be a long and well deserved era of rebirth coming to us. As the song goes "when the moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then peace will role the planet and love will steer the stars..."

 

It was early in 2019 that I noticed a change in my vision. That January my ENT had ordered a CAT Scan which reveled something going on with my pituitary gland. He subsequently recommended an MRI which showed signs of a small tumor glowing close to where the optical nerves converge.

After meeting with a Neurosurgeon I was told that it was in fact a very small and benign tumor, and that I should not have to worry about for several years as they tend to grow extremely slow. In about a month my vision had continued to worsen and I began to worry.

I made an appointment with two different Ophthalmologists both told me that I was experiencing macular degeneration.

It was suggested that I take some medications and hope for the best, but always looking for homeopathic alternatives I started a series of acupuncture treatments.

Nothing seemed to be working and my vision was continuing to get worse.

My husband and I had rented a house in Palm Springs for the season and felt that it would be good to get away into the sunshine. Palm Springs has always been a touch stone for me and maybe this would help.

It seemed that the whole world was going into crisis and my dilemma only made me feel more endangered, much like a wounded animal who would be expelled from the herd. Funny how drama begets drama, and chaos can cause contemp. 

The second Ophthalmologist had been a little more caring and concerned so I made an appointment to talk with him again once we returned from Palm Springs. He asked me to get some tests while I was out there and referred me to a second Neurologist. Finally it was determined that it was in fact the tumor that needed to be dealt with, and sooner than later.

We were now ending our stay in the desert and, as luck would have it, something identified as COVID-19 had begun to rage in New York, and on the 
West Coast.

Sunday Morning

It is 6:30am on a Sunday morning in April. The sun has touched the tops of our Austrian Pine Trees and the world is quiet around me like a leafy, lazy comforter gently coaxing me to stay in bed and ponder the day.

I stretch out my arms and legs and find only cool empty space and the world is mine for the moment. Little snippets of life such as these are wonderful in their purity and for the moment I feel as though I am floating above the earth and time in a cocoon of cotton candy.

In another moment a Robin appears and breaks the silence with his call. A soft breeze blows and the leaves begin to rustle and my body tells me it is time to re- enter the real world and begin another day.

At once several more birds appear, a man walks by below with his dog and my tranquility has been shattered. The city is encroaching again and my fortress of solitude has been breached.

But it is Sunday morning after all - a day of rest and reflection. I think that I might just roll over and slip under the covers for while longer. The day will wait for me I'm sure ...

• Once, when I was a younger man, I asked my boss what it was that he had done before he became CEO of his company. He replied that “in his other life” he had been a salesman and had traveled the country meeting with accounts and enjoying the single life on the road. “Other Life” I thought? How many lives can one person have, and how many does one need?

• Reflecting back on that moment today, I would have to answer that we all have as many lives as we need to. Some are passive, others more aggressive, and still others have a life of their own.

• In my preteens I was my parent’s child being molded by their example and wishing for a time when I could be grown up. 

• In my teens and twenties, I was a head strong young man striving to find my place in the world and to break free of the childhood ties that kept me prisoner.

• Arriving at my thirties, I was the adult that I had so desired to be, but there was still that lack of personal freedom that I so desired.

• Enter forty, and I found myself ready to be my own man. Starting my own business and taking a life partner, I very much felt the successful ingénue that I had strived to be.

• It wasn’t however until the age of sixty that I realized my full potential. Having survived four previous incarnations and the death of a long time life partner I felt myself broken and exhausted. But instead of lying down for the count I picked myself up and with the help of my husband Chadwick, I began to build a new and even more perfect life in which to flourish.

• Will there be a sixth incarnation? Perhaps if need be. But I would rather like to think that this time is the last time. And from this point forward the best is yet to come … It must be!