Something beautiful is happening. I know it may not seem like it … this has been an unbelievable and unprecedented year of suffering and pain. There are still a thousand people dying of COVID-19 each day, police brutality is still happening in our cities, families are losing their homes, schools are struggling to open, anger is raging in our streets, and stories of hatred dominate our news cycle.
Yet I still feel it. Something beautiful is happening … right in the midst of all of this suffering.
Today I saw a motorist slow down to make sure a man on a bicycle could pass by safely. I saw a teenager rush to help a woman whose grocery bag had spilled in the parking lot. I saw people making space for one another on the sidewalk to preserve social distancing. I saw neighbors waving to each other from across the street. I saw musicians playing free concerts online to entertain us. I saw a restaurant giving away free meals to the hungry.
Today I saw that nearly every person I encountered was wearing a mask. Each one of them smiled with their eyes and nodded as we passed. We mask-wearers are coming together as a force for love and compassion.
We are more comfortable now, more patient, more tolerant, more concerned about one another. We have slowed our pace. We are taking our time and being more present with each other. We are looking out for the welfare of everyone as we choose the minor inconvenience of wearing a mask over the possible risk of harming someone else. And our collective concern is visible, right there on our faces.
Yes there are many who want no part of our face-covering, who prioritize their own personal freedom over the good of others. But that’s okay … because we care about them too. We want them to be safe along with all the rest of us.
In the previous post I wrote about seeing the light … the brilliant light of the Divine … inside every person. If you look closely enough, the light shines just as surely whether one wears a mask or not, whether one speaks words of love or hate, whether one cares for others or not. The light is still there and it is beautiful. When we teach ourselves to see the light we can truly begin to see it everywhere. And then we can help others—those who are hateful and angry—to see their own light by reflecting it back to them.
Something beautiful is happening … one light at a time.
Don’t give up or fall apart in despair, no matter how difficult the next few months become. The light is growing all around us even if you can’t see it. Keep shining for others to see. Keep loving even those in your life who seem unlovable. Keep your heart open and sharpen your eyes to see within.
Something beautiful … an awakening of love … is happening right now.