May 5, 2021
A NEW DAWN: CORONA CHALLENGE
A reflection by Sr Nellie McLaughlin - sent in by Elizabeth McArdle, who works with the Columbans in Dalgan on issues to do with ecology
I gaze half-dazed out of sleepy eyes wondering
When will the new dawn break?
The sky shimmers with morning freshness
While I search for the dawning –
Restlessly, fearfully, resolutely, wholeheartedly -
How could I have missed it? Again?
The new year began with renewed vigour from Covid-19 and added restrictions. There was fresh optimism too with the early emergence of vaccines. Dedicated scientists tirelessly creating glimmers of relief for all, as a tentative sense of emerging light at the end of this long tunnel dawns.
‘Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know’ (Pema Chodron)
Deep within Earth’s sacred cradle of wisdom I sense rumblings: We - humanity - may eventually control the virus and with vaccines overcome it.
BUT
What if only then - and too late -
We realise that we have silenced the messenger
But missed the message?
Earth, our Common Home, is undoubtedly trying to communicate with us, but our collective amnesia is alive and well. Covid-19 may be gone this year or next but there will undoubtedly be others. We don’t have to look far with the twin viruses of climate emergency and biodiversity depletion breathing too close for comfort. We ARE in crisis!
Science, which is guiding us through this darkness, tells us that our planet is a living organism, a sentient being, with 4.5 billion years of evolutionary experience. Among others, our young people, have intuited this as they caution us in our global climate emergency – there is no Planet B. There is no time for delay: unwavering political will and concerted action by all of us is more urgent than ever before. We need to wake up to this fact and listen to Earth before we destroy our common home and all therein. There is NO vaccine for this crisis.
The corona virus is surely challenging our provocative intrusion into the habitats of others in the community of creation for monetary gain and will continue to do so until we change our ways. The challenge is to collectively wake up to the mystery that we are part of the awesome community of life, interdependent and kin with all. There is room for all, our early ancestors respected this as do indigenous peoples and a growing nucleus of others today.
In this epiphany moment let us pause and reflect:
What if we were to dream of a hitherto unattained planetary awakening and feel that visceral excitement that it is possible?
What if we were to acknowledge our vulnerability and need for companionship within the community of all creation?
What if we collectively were to put our hands up and admit that we have strayed from our kin-consciousness and commit to living more sustainably within the earth economy of abundant but finite resources to be shared with all?
What if we could cherish the mysterious gift of togetherness creating that resilience needed to courageously weave enduring tapestries of healing, hope, equality, justice, love, peace and wellbeing for all in our Common Home?
What if a profound acknowledgement of our innate goodness and fresh sense of the oneness of all life were to shape our future post-Covid; thereby respecting inclusion for all and that basic right to be and to flourish in the community of creation?
HOWEVER
What if we fail to learn emerging lessons?
Will we persist in gazing half-dazed
Out of sleepy eyes wondering,
When will the new dawn break?
The sky shimmers with morning freshness
While we search for the dawning-
Restlessly, fearfully, resolutely, wholeheartedly-
WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS IT EVER AGAIN!
Nellie Mc Laughlin, January 2021
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