Stillness

Photo: L. Weikel

I’ve been sitting here contemplating what I might write about this evening and the word ‘stillness’ keeps popping into my head.

I know I could use some stillness in my life. Perhaps even more than simply ‘in my life,’ I could use some stillness in my thoughts and emotions.

The past week has been a blur. And actually, when I think about what I was doing and thinking a week ago, it almost feels as though I’m remembering another year, another season at the very least. Of course, part of that feeling could be attributable to the unseasonably balmy weather we’ve been enjoying here in eastern Pennsylvania over the past four days or so.

When I think back a week ago, it was cold and rainy outside. All the leaves were getting whipped off the trees. Indeed, exactly one week ago, wild winds took out our electricity for several hours and I was forced to write my post on my phone.

Top of the Coaster

It turns out that our evening of lost electricity was just our little car reaching the top of the roller coaster. The slow tick – tick – tick – that comes with climbing to the crest suddenly gave way. Momentum whisked me forward – from seeing Kamala Harris in Bethlehem to working as an election official for just shy of 17 hours, from holding myself in rigid anticipation with the rest of the country and world to attending rallies encouraging all votes be counted – I’m only just now starting to catch my breath.

This past week most definitely felt like a rollercoaster ride. You know, how it seems to take forever to reach that very first, usually highest, peak, but then once you do, everything seems to blow past you in a blur?

And now, tomorrow, we’re going to begin settling back into a new routine. And yes, to me, it feels like our forward momentum is a bit of a paradox. Maybe that’s why I’m craving a chance to snatch some stillness for myself. I yearn to make sense of where we are before we’re dragged into the next whip-around or stomach-dropping plunge.

Need For Care

Part of my yearning for stillness is a sense that we need to take particularly good care of ourselves right now. In the frenzy of the election and its aftermath, unless we were directly dealing with someone sick from Covid-19, the existence of the pandemic may have receded into the background of our minds. Not that we didn’t continue to wear masks and exercise social distancing; I know I, and those around me, did. But we may not have been actively contemplating dealing with the illness up close and personal.

If we’ve managed to be so lucky, hopefully we’ll continue to keep it at bay in our lives. I was shocked to learn today that the rate of infection climbed in the past week to the point where it’s predicted that by the end of next week, we’ll be gaining one million additional positive cases per week. (There’s that roller coaster again.)

That’s mind-boggling. And definitely not great when you realize that deaths are on the rise as well.

Settle Back – Be Still

So in the midst of settling back into a new routine, I urge us all to prioritize our health. It’s essential that we care for ourselves and each other. A lot of people came into more contact with others than usual this past week, from interaction at our polling places, to participation in rallies, to attending gatherings of solace or celebration.

It’s time now to engage in stillness. Stop. Take stock. Step back. Breathe deep. Maybe make an extra effort to keep ourselves as separate from each other as we can. We need to to make sure we’re not infected – so we don’t hurt the ones we love.

The numbers they’re projecting aren’t really numbers at all. They’re people. They’re our neighbors, our friends.

We need to do our best to make sure they’re not us.