Love in the Time of Corona

”The only regret I will have in dying is if it is not for love.” —Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

As I opened up my Instagram at one point today, the first post that appeared was my friend Danielle’s. This spirited teacher friend of mine has been in Italy since Chinese New Year. Early in her trip, which has turned in to a temporary residency, she met Marco. Today, Marco proposed, and Danielle said yes. Love in the time of the novel coronavirus is real, indeed. I am toasting Danielle and Marco with my Chang beer from the Phi Phi Islands tonight. Yours, my friend, is quite the origin story.

In this time of great uncertainty, love is not the only thing that arises. As humans, we have all kinds of reactions to fear, some of them more shadowy than others. A number of my students have recently flown from South Korea back to China. One of my students has been sending regular updates to his teachers as his situation has impeded his ability to attend to his academics. In one recent email he wrote:

I hope you are all having a wonderful afternoon. While it was a really wild week, my mom and I were able to get into our residential area through the parking lot without much drama, most likely due to strong responses from the Shenzhen government to the residents. We are back home now, without much trouble. Thank you for your understanding this past week. Now, I can get back into working without any problems. 

(Also, the reason why we didn't get in on Thursday or Friday was because of the residents' reactions. Friday was especially wacky, as we basically had to stand in front of the gate while everyone was taking pictures of us and shouting "go back to quarantine virus!". A very wacky day, indeed.)

Go back to quarantine virus?! My goodness. My heart hurt when I read that. I know that Elliott is not the only one experiencing people uttering words that cause distress and acting in hurtful ways. Ignorance does not discriminate —- it enters all cultures; without deep awareness of ourselves, anyone is capable of letting their shadow cast darkness over others. It’s human nature. But so is it human nature to cast light, to shed rays of love and hope and support on others.

In addition to Danielle’s beautiful story, scrolling Instagram also led me down a reflective path, considering just some of the actions we can take to support one another and our communities right now, as Covid-19 makes it way around the globe. I love theconciouskid — this feed always has me thinking about leveling up my consciousness and seeing other perspectives. Especially now, it feels so important to consider how our decisions will financially impact others’ ability to pay their bills. .

I am reading what Jimmy wrote here, asking myself, “Who are the most vulnerable populations

in my part of Shenzhen? What can I do to support them?

GuanteSolo is one of my new fave humans. His podcast What’s Good, Man? is legit. So is his spirit of serving humanity.

As I am curled into bed for my last night on Phi Phi Island, I am continuing to consider what kind of light I am casting onto those around me. I have been living large for three weeks. I have been loving it. I also want to make sure that I am serving others and thinking of what the world around me needs. Right now, this in part means offering as much pastoral care to my students as possible. I am working to wrap my arms around them, figuratively, by reaching out through email and video chats. I think there is more, though. I am sure there is.

I am just thinking about the power we all have to bring Higher Love to our respective geographic spaces. (This dance video is still forthcoming, by the way!) It has been through the love extended to me in the past 8 weeks, by my friends, family, therapist, everyone that I have connected with at CC’s, that I have felt so sustained in this crazy, ambiguous world. So, let’s keep loving.

I am going to peace out here as beachside stays always bring on my narcolepsy. In closing, a number of photos to celebrate the beauty of this part of Thailand, a country of such kind people, and a country I am eternally grateful to have landed in.

This has been my morning view as I have walked out of my bungalow each day. I am arising early tomorrow for a sunrise swim.

The flora and fauna of Thailand will entreat you to pause time and again and just breathe in gratitude.

I could write from here for forever. And ever and ever. To hell with logic and reason. I’m buying real estate on this island.

Honestly, though. Thailand. XOXO