Bear's Blog
It’s really hard to plan these days (we make plans and God laughs?) – but plan we must, and stay flexible from day to day.
There is the known; the unknown; and the unknowable. While the post-Corona future is unknown, we do have glimpses into what it might look like (based on what we’ve lived through so far). Some immediate takeaways from our current limbo land –
1) We are appreciating technology as a way to stay socially engaged on a bigger scale than ever before -
...
What’s REALLY killing us -
Having an either/or mentality will bite you back every time. When making a decision, I often have to jog my thinking to realize there is a continuum of choices available to me. It allows me to consider many variables and access their importance in the bigger picture.
Black and white, us and them, is easier to navigate than a “grey” zone of possibility.
Americans have hardened into a debilitating partisanship; each “side” has its own...
Medical knowledge and standard of care evolves over time; alternative and complementary approaches (including therapies, supplements and diet) are often leading the way in terms of effective treatment until they are proven. What we are seeing now is an extreme compression of medical experience, experimentation and knowledge in a short period of time. What we thought yesterday is no longer true, and then there’s a new issue to puzzle out… it’s stunning to watch. There are...
Everything is contracted, smaller, we have less activity, less coming and going. It’s demoralizing that we are in this ever-worsening situation, but we can and should continue to do the small things like using “face-coverings” and keeping our distance. Yet in the magnitude of what is happening, it feels like putting sandbags around our home with an impending tsunami on the rise.
We need and miss the emotional and energetic nourishment we get when we are physically with...
Symbols are powerful things. They are shorthand for what we believe in, and people have died for them - and what they symbolize - throughout history. National flags reflect those identities and values, and flags can also represent other self-defined groups. Pride Month just ended, with lots of flags in evidence of that celebration!
We are now having a national discussion over what flags, signs and monuments exemplify our American ideals. One thing we can all agree on is – the Statue of...
So, what is our new normal? Your new normal?
We will not be able to move in the world in the same way we used to, at least for a year or two. A vaccine will help a lot, and “herd immunity” – 60-70% of the population exposed – will take a few years to achieve. In the meantime, contacts outside our “bubble” need to be limited and carefully considered. So until then…
What is important to you? What choices are you making?
The only appointments I have...
Wow. Do we get to revisit the (Spanish Flu) pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression of 1929, and the Civil Rights Movement of 1968, all at once?
A friend recently noted that the current astrology* is very similar to the late 1960’s and early 70’s. Let’s remember what was going on back then…
…the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, “Gay” Liberation, Vietnam protests, Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers boycotts, the Environmental...
This is the last Corona Care Kit newsletter. We are collectively diving back into action, for better or worse; going back to work, public spaces, stores and restaurants. Dipping our toes into the social pool, the new way forward is uncertain and tentative. Being propelled into the public square, literally or figuratively, we are called to make something new, and better from these times.
Last week’s newsletter – Stop, Drop, and Roll with It! – referenced what to do when...
Tumultuous times are with us. The tide of emotions and thoughts can be overwhelming. Maybe you are upset, angry, sad, scared, or discouraged. Possibly you are experiencing a mix of those, or a feeling that doesn’t even have a label. We are certainly experiencing a disturbance - in the energy field, in the streets, in our thinking and emotions, and ultimately in our bodies. I feel a heaviness in my body, and a numbness that slows everything down.
My self-care practices are helpful while...
Nature! Nature is all of us, and everything in the world. There is an ongoing mutual exchange, support and reciprocity between all living organisms. And while the natural world nourishes us in many ways, I want to talk about our direct relationship with FOOD; there’s the practical, the energetic and the spiritual aspects.
In recent years there has been more attention on local food, native plants, seed diversity and organic farming. Community gardening programs have sprung up in...
Is there a situation where the suffering is deep and complex, and you don’t know what to do (like now)? It seems an appropriate time to share this meditation, with Corona taxing our resilience and understanding of what’s happening in the world. It’s an antidote to feeling helpless or afraid. In class many years ago, a student asked me during the (first) Iraq war “what can I do?” and this was my answer (it’s now part of every Foundation class I teach)....
The next installment of the Corona Care Kit - Play! Or at least not trying to “apply” ourselves, plenty of that going on – as I said in the first Corona Care newsletter, the key to sanity is having a regular schedule. Then what seems to happen, at first or after a while is – the need for self-discipline. My schedule seems to get looser as time goes on and I find myself lost in thought more. So this week’s Corona Care is an alternative spacing out, but serves the...
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