Re: Staying In (fwd)

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:12:50 -0700 (PDT)
 >
 > there's a reference to Isaac Newton's quarantine

Where?

 >  > From: Michael Ellis<http://www.footlooseforays.com/~mjellis>
 >  > Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2020 19:50:38 +0000
 >  > 
 >  > Hello everyone:
 >  > 
 >  > The response to my email last week was overwhelmingly positive
 >  > and thankful.  I normally only do one or two of these
 >  > newsletters per month but there's nothing
 >  > “normal” about these times. If you recall
 >  > Norman Cousins ( Anatomy of an Illness) discovered that indeed
 >  > humor and laughter was, if not the best medicine, a darn good
 >  > one. Beauty, movement, music, and nature are also most
 >  > healing. So what I'd like to do is to share with you some
 >  > links/images to lend insight, hope, perseverance, and beauty
 >  > followed by some vetted information that is useful about coping
 >  > with these trying times of ours. Much of what I share has been
 >  > sent to me by others and while I might not acknowledge I thank
 >  > you all for that.
 >  > 
 >  > Also a reminder that if you'd like to have really good updates
 >  > of the rapidly changing events in our world, please contact my
 >  > friend Michael Alexander who is sending out daily Covid-19
 >  > information. His contact is http://www.mhalex.com/~michael.  Alma Rae Ellis,
 >  > like many youngsters, thank goodness, have not a clue what is
 >  > going on. She simply knows that both her parents are now home
 >  > and they have a new puppy which she doesn’t care much
 >  > for yet. Let us work together to make her world a better one.
 >  > 
 >  > Here is my latest article in Bay Nature Magazine (
 >  > https://baynature.org/article/how-do-birds-know-how-to-build-nests/)
 >  > . I have been writing this ASK THE NATURALIST column since the
 >  > magazine's inception in 2001. Please consider subscribing if you
 >  > have not already. Not only are the articles fascinating and
 >  > informative but you can discover wonderful areas in the SF Bay
 >  > area to take delicious and soul nourishing hikes. Our parks will
 >  > reopen. I really want this magazine to thrive, preservation of
 >  > nature is now more important than ever.  An African Paradise
 >  > Flycatcher male on a nest woven with lichens and spider webs.
 >  > 
 >  > There are many poets, artists and, yes, therapists helping us
 >  > cope. Here is a recent letter sent out to the world by my
 >  > friend, Francis Weller. He specializes (if that is the word) in
 >  > grief, grieving and initiations.
 >  > 
 >  > Dear friends,
 >  > Warm spring greetings to you all. We are living in anxious
 >  > times.  Uncertainty has come into our homes and found its way
 >  > into each of our lives. What was once stable and familiar, has
 >  > been shaken and we have entered a steep descent into the
 >  > unknown. Here, the invisible world asserts its power, reminding
 >  > us of the folly of control. In these times, it may not be the
 >  > gods and goddesses affecting our fates, but something equally
 >  > mysterious: something unseen moving through the air, rattling
 >  > our deep psychic ground, affecting everything.  Fear and anxiety
 >  > readily appear in times like these. Our work is to turn toward
 >  > these jittery guests and make a place at the table to offer tea
 >  > and soup, a warm place to rest. Grief may also come knocking as
 >  > our plans and expectations of normalcy fade into shadows, and we
 >  > are left with our faith in the world being shaken. This too is a
 >  > loss worthy of our attention and kindness. Coronavirus reminds
 >  > us of something inevitable but strangely denied: we are
 >  > vulnerable, interdependent animals, clinging delicately to our
 >  > little thread of life. The old Zen phrase, “Not
 >  > knowing, is most intimate,” rings true. We
 >  > don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow, and
 >  > this brings us into the intimate truth of our own tender
 >  > existence.  In reality, we are tumbling through a rough
 >  > initiation,* when radical alterations occur in our inner and
 >  > outer landscapes. It is simultaneously deeply personal and
 >  > wildly collective, binding us to one another. Everyone we meet
 >  > in the grocery store, in line at the gas station, walking their
 >  > dog, is tangled up in this liminal space betwixt and between the
 >  > familiar world and the strange, emergent one. Hang on!  Much is
 >  > asked of us during threshold times like these. In my work with
 >  > the Cancer Help Program, I often hear how lost someone feels
 >  > once they receive the diagnosis, undergo treatment and become a
 >  > part of the medical machinery that often consumes much of their
 >  > daily routine. The frequent lament is, “ I
 >  > don’t know who I am anymore.” This is the
 >  > deep work of initiation. It is meant to dislodge our old
 >  > identity, the sediment of self that we affix to our sense of who
 >  > we are. We are meant to be radically changed by these
 >  > encounters. We do not want to come out of these turbulent times
 >  > the same as we went in. That is the invitation in this moment of
 >  > history. Radical change.  There are shifts happening along the
 >  > fault lines of this evolving crisis.  The insane pace of
 >  > modernity is being brought to a screeching halt. The dominant
 >  > ideology of power/privilege is cracking, coaxing a more
 >  > compassionate and heartfelt response to our mutually entangled
 >  > lives.  Suddenly, productivity is not the primary value, but
 >  > connection, affection, love, encouragement. In the pause of
 >  > sheltering in place, we remember neighbors and kindness,
 >  > mutuality and empathy.  So now what? How do we navigate this
 >  > tidal surge of uncertainty? Our first move could be to
 >  > re-imagine social distancing as an experience of sanctuary and
 >  > solitude, and not one of isolation. Social distance is a cold
 >  > term, lacking any sense of the rich invitation that awaits us
 >  > when we turn toward our internal worlds. Solitude is a state of
 >  > hospitality, a welcoming of all that is in need of
 >  > attention. Solitude offers a ground that is embracing and
 >  > inclusive. Everything can be made welcome in the broad arms of
 >  > solitude, even fear. For as long as humans have sought counsel
 >  > with the sacred, much of it has happened in a space set apart
 >  > from others. Here, in silence and a nourishing aloneness, we can
 >  > become receptive to the influence of soul. As Rilke said,
 >  > “I am too alone in the world, and not alone enough to
 >  > make every minute holy.” As we shelter in place, may
 >  > place become a shelter for each of us.  What else? Can we coax a
 >  > few words of praise from our lips? Maybe sing a song or two,
 >  > like they are sharing across balconies in the streets of Italy.
 >  > Perhaps recite a poem to the birds, plant seeds, call a friend,
 >  > pray, read the great myths that tell us, again and again, how we
 >  > might find our way through the impossible. This is a season of
 >  > remembering the ancient rhythms of soul. It is a time to become
 >  > immense.  To become immense means to recall how embedded we are
 >  > in an animate world--a world that dreams and enchants, a world
 >  > that excites our imaginations and conjures our affections
 >  > through its stunning beauty. Everything we need is here. We only
 >  > need to remember the wider embrace of our belonging to woodlands
 >  > and prairies, marshlands and neighborhoods, to the old stories
 >  > and the tender gestures of a friend.  Fear can rattle us and
 >  > activate strategic patterns of survival. These patterns enabled
 >  > us to endure, but they cannot help us across this tremulous
 >  > threshold. For that, we need to amplify the potency of the
 >  > adult. As is true of any genuine initiation, it requires a
 >  > ripening of our being and stepping more fully into our robust
 >  > identity rooted in soul. We become immense, not in some
 >  > grandiose, “I’ve got this,”
 >  > kind of way, but in a way where we become flexible like a
 >  > willow, taking into our open arms and offering shelter to all
 >  > that is frightened and vulnerable.  So, my friends, we return to
 >  > simple things: stillness, beauty, compassion, patience. This
 >  > will not resolve quickly. The art of repetition has great value
 >  > in shaky times. Beyond frequent hand washing and bowing to one
 >  > another, we can come back to practices that enrich the field we
 >  > inhabit. Rituals, prayer, meditation, dance, are all ways to
 >  > foster an intimacy with the ground of soul and the soul of the
 >  > world. Stay safe. Stay well.  Mighty blessings, Francis Weller
 >  > And here is why we need to isolate to “flatten the
 >  > curve." (
 >  > https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artists-viral-match-video-coronavirus-1805979?utm_content=from_artnetnews&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US%209:30%20a.m.%20newsletter%20for%203/17/20&utm_term=New%20US%20Newsletter%20List)
 >  > Leave it to the artists for the visuals.
 >  > 
 >  > The Joy of Birds. (
 >  > https://www.audubon.org/joy-of-birds?ms=digital-eng-email-ea-x-engagement_20200320_eng-thankyou-liftnote-one-time_medium&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20200320_eng-thankyou-liftnote-one-time&utm_content=medium&emci=2dd63f15-e76a-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&emdi=236e1c5e-fb6a-ea11-a94c-00155d03b5dd&ceid=842493)
 >  > 
 >  > Dance to this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn-K8nC0orc)
 >  > . African beats!!  YES!  Here is a note I received from a friend
 >  > I have never met except via this social web we weave, Judy Carol
 >  > Bell from Maryville, Tennessee.
 >  > 
 >  > Michael,
 >  > I want to send a heart hug and kiss to you, to all the people on
 >  > this newsletter, to your personal friends, relatives, and
 >  > colleagues. Though I have never been able to travel with you in
 >  > person, I have immensely enjoyed travelling with you through the
 >  > pictures. What I have most enjoyed--aside from your
 >  > extraordinary self--are the faces (and hearts) of the local
 >  > persons you shared. I mean the guides out with the soulful
 >  > animals and bush plants, those attempting to hoop with you, and
 >  > so on. They put a human face on parts of the world I will never
 >  > see in person.
 >  > 
 >  > Do you remember the leopard that came to visit your parked
 >  > convoy and took shelter under one of the vehicles? Sure you
 >  > do. Was it you who climbed under another vehicle to use the
 >  > camera at the same level to make a close up of its peaceful,
 >  > almost wistful self?  I saved those photos. I made a close-up of
 >  > that resting leopard's face, its eyes. For a long time it has
 >  > revolved on my desktop's screen saver, huge face. That cat and I
 >  > see eye-to-eye every few days. When I see that cat's eyes, I see
 >  > both the strangeness of our differences that will never be
 >  > resolved, and I see the simplicity of the mammalian soul at
 >  > rest, I see no difference. Just being at peace is just being at
 >  > peace. Whatever the species. We are kin.  We are kin to the
 >  > animal that had a mutation of a corona virus that makes us
 >  > sick. Perhaps that animal, that species was/is also sick. If
 >  > there was an intervening species, it may be sick; and we are kin
 >  > to it too.  The question arises, is the corona virus our enemy?
 >  > On one level, it certainly is. On another, it is just another
 >  > life form doing its thing. Could we tame it?  Could we whisper
 >  > to it? I have not tried. Maybe I, we, could try Judy
 >  > 
 >  > Wow! That brought tears, thank you, for that insight and
 >  > heartfelt connection of all all all life….and here is
 >  > that video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwvlyk6VWEY) of
 >  > that leopard you so vividly recalled.
 >  > The FARSIDE (https://www.thefarside.com/) is back as I mentioned
 >  > in an earlier blog.
 >  > 
 >  > A repeat for sure but love this mash up (
 >  > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE)
 >  > 
 >  > One more to dance to
 >  > (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bihELWwT8g) ...FEEL THE
 >  > LOVE…
 >  > 
 >  > My friend Rick Bacigalupi created these nature videos (
 >  > https://www.natureontheair.com/?fbclid=IwAR0MPOOtAw28hg8uFu0iMG59op9Cey2O8qCfgTDvKJh5jtTHWBd7Zkyp8xg
 >  > ) . I am in some of them. Perhaps good for those stay at home
 >  > kids Another great poem by Lynn Unger..balm for our souls
 >  > 
 >  > Boundaries
 >  > 
 >  > The universe does not
 >  > revolve around you.
 >  > The stars and planets spinning
 >  > through the ballroom of space
 >  > dance with one another
 >  > quite outside of your small life.
 >  > You cannot hold gravity
 >  > or seasons; even air and water
 >  > inevitably evade your grasp.
 >  > Why not, then, let go?
 >  > 
 >  > You could move through time
 >  > like a shark through water,
 >  > neither restless or ceasing,
 >  > absorbed in and absorbing
 >  > the native element.
 >  > Why pretend you can do otherwise?
 >  > The world comes in at every pore,
 >  > mixes in your blood before
 >  > breath releases you into
 >  > the world again.  Did you think
 >  > the fragile boundary of your skin
 >  > could build a wall?
 >  > 
 >  > Listen.  Every molecule is humming
 >  > its particular pitch.
 >  > Of course you are a symphony.
 >  > Whose tune do you think
 >  > the planets are singing
 >  > as they dance?
 >  > 
 >  > ~ Lynn Ungar ~
 >  > Now some practical stuff
 >  > 
 >  > These are good, a few are new-agey but won’t hurt. (
 >  > https://medium.com/@radiorupa/list-of-personal-things-you-can-do-to-stay-well-in-a-time-of-covid19-cd10ff0df106)
 >  > 
 >  > Viruses fall on us everyday (
 >  > https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/science/virosphere-evolution.html)
 >  > (You might have to subscribe to the NYT to get this one)
 >  > 
 >  > Let us not blame the bats. (
 >  > https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/its-wrong-to-blame-bats-for-the-coronavirus-epidemic)
 >  > 
 >  > A cold? The flu? or Covid-19? (
 >  > https://www.nfid.org/infectious-diseases/frequently-asked-questions-about-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/)
 >  > 
 >  > How long can the virus last on different surfaces? (
 >  > https://www.kktv.com/content/news/New-study-suggests-how-long-COVID-19-can-stay-on-surfaces-569036171.html)
 >  > 
 >  > That is it…be careful, be separate, be here now. At
 >  > this time how are you doing? Most of us are OK at this moment
 >  > and that is all we have.  Me and Anubis hunkering down in Santa
 >  > Rosa...