Day 3 The Longer Table Option
My spiritual teachers are legion, and they often arise in the oddest places. Take this morning, for example:
I have been a fan of Mary Engelbreit for decades. It is my custom to have a page-a-day calendar of hers that displays her prodigious illustration artistry. Mary Engelbreit understood sound bytes even before they had a name. She’s used quotes that inspire her for decades. This morning’s read:
If you are more fortunate than others, it’s better to build a longer table than a taller fence.
The United States, in particular, has had a very bad case of TallerFenc-itis for the past three years.
This post is about asking yourself: how can I build a longer table [right where I am]?
One of Mary’s Instagram posts this morning read: maryengelbreit We’re all sick with various things here in Engelbreitland. The doctors say no point in coming in since there are no tests to give. The US responded worse than any country in the world. All we can do is hole up inside and hope for the best. Making stuff, cleaning out closets, reading, bingeing tv shows... it wouldn’t be bad if my kids weren’t sick, which makes me insane and wild with fear and SO ANGRY. One of my few pleasures is reading everyday how trump has shaken hands and had dinner next to yet another person who has tested positive. Many good people say they would never wish anyone to be sick. I am not that good person.
I love that she acknowledges her antipathy in this bungled handling of a pandemic. She’s definitely not alone.
She also makes a list:
1. Make stuff
2. Clean out closets
3. Read
4. Binge-watch TV shows
Ellen DeGeneres writes on Instagram this morning that her show has suspended production till March 30th. Her comment: “I’m already bored.”
Not the first time I’m hearing this, nor will it be the last. If you’re bored, take the time to note how you are so accustomed to being entertained at all hours of the day and night from places outside your own being.
Here’s another list; it will help you know yourself and know what you can give.
5. Meditate
6. Pray
7. Do a collage vision board
8. Read spiritual books
These kinds of activities might help you make the changes in your life that you know you want to make. Stillness and silence are the ground for miracles. In this hiatus from daily busy-ness, let part of your self-care be spiritual self-care. It makes a longer table just for you. Then you will naturally invite others.
I heard yesterday of a nineteen year old NBA player covering the hourly salaries of those who work in his home arena. What a remarkable use of his abundance.
Every one of us, bar those who are ill, can do something for others during this time of emergent crisis.
9. Call a distant friend to check in
10. Donate what money you can
Laura Heywood @broadwaygirlnyc posted on Instagram yesterday that hourly employees on Broadway could list their Venmo addresses in the comments on her posts, and people would contribute to help them meet their expenses.
Do you know your neighbors? What do they need?
Laura Benanti, in behalf of OfficialBroadwayWorld on Instagram this morning, spoke directly to the disappointed hearts of high school musical participants all over the world. She invited them to sing their show songs and tag her so she, at the very least, will hear them. She blew a kiss into the camera, and broke my heart right open.
11. Check to see what you can do for your neighbors.
Who do you know who counts as extraordinarily vulnerable at this time? A homeless person? A student far away from home? A person in a shelter? Queer kids? Trans kids? Persons who are disabled? Elderly?
12. Share what you have.
In fact, that might be the theme for this whole post, Beloved.
When you share what you have, you automatically build a longer table.
Unless we choose to care for one another, and believe me, it is a choice, we will splinter our society even more into the haves and the have-nots.
No one is immune from CoronaVirus. No one.
I think we should consider it a universal invitation to the table.
Dr. Susan Corso is a metaphysician and medical intuitive with a private counseling practice for more than 35 years. She has written too many books to list here. Her website is www.susancorso.com
© Dr. Susan Corso 2020 All rights reserved.