Enough! by Susan Burrell
“We are all delicate. The hard times break. The soft things bend. The stubborn ones batter themselves against all that is immovable. The flexible adapt to what is before them. Of course, we are all hard and soft, stubborn and flexible, and so we all break until we learn to bend and are battered until we accept what is before us.” Mark Nepo
A friend sent this quote to me and it smacked me right between the eyes.
I had to ask myself … Am I bending and softening? Or am I battering my head and heart until I break? This time of lock-down, quarantine, sheltering in place - whatever you have been calling it - has been a time of breaking down, depression, fearful hiding out, uncertainty, unable to trust people, battering oneself against what appears to be happening globally in an attempt to figure it all out.
I have often been the one who is battering my head against what is happening - rebelling, denying, trying to rise above for a clearer picture.
All so I could avoid the inevitability of facing what is happening and fully surrendering my stubbornness so the change that was wanting to take place within me could happen.
Anyone else in that boat with me? And yeah, we’ll social distance as we row together.
I truly don’t understand why change causes rebellions, riot, marches, looting, anger and fear. I don’t know why Gandhi had to go on numerous hunger strikes until he almost withered away in order to get people to listen. I don’t understand why Martin Luther King had to die in order for more people to listen. And those two are just the tip of the awareness of courageous people who stood up to what they saw as oppression, manipulation of the masses and mass destruction.
So many unknown heroes and gurus have been walking amongst us helping in small and consistent ways, bending and softening while also being strong and courageous. People who recognize in their hearts and not their minds that humanity has been warped by whatever kool-aid the masses have been swallowing, to say in loud or quiet voices “Enough!! We are all in this together!”
I have been seeing banners stating that we are all in this together. I get their meaning. We are in this “pandemic” together as we all separated and divided in order to shelter in our homes. (And isn’t that a clever use of the word shelter, to make being isolated and divided comforting?!?) All out of fear of being killed (harsh word, I know) or killing a loved one because of a pandemic that may or may not be real.
BUT - if we are truly all in this together - truly ONE human family, One in the Source of all Life, then the divisiveness, hatred and accusations of harm Should Not be happening.
There is a very old belief that has been functioning for several centuries.
It is one of hierarchy, suppression and subjugation. One where dog eats dog, only the fittest survive and the man is on top. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. (Hearing the Yul Brenner voice in “ The King and I”)
It fascinates me that as we come closer to opening our doors and connecting with each other - the same old, same old- is happening.
Anger, hatred, fear running rampant, looting, rioting and stirring the pot that was on a low simmer while we all went into isolation.
Have we learned nothing while we’ve been sequestered? Did we not learn about ourselves? Are we not striving to come out better than when we stepped into this? Has no one taken a look in the mirror and seen the Divine spark of light that we all are? Have we not seen our fellow human beings in that mirror?
“Of course, we are all hard and soft, stubborn and flexible, and so we all break until we learn to bend and are battered until we accept what is before us.”
What is before us as we come out of this? Are you ready to accept what is before us and come out better than before? Are we ready to be Leaders of Light and Love? The ones who say “Enough! I stand in LOVE!”
I know I am - God help me.