Jesus CHRIST, as if the news every day about a global pandemic weren’t bad enough, Salt Lake was hit with a 5.7 earthquake this morning. I’ve never felt one that strong and, as my friend said, “I didn’t know my house could move like that, and I don’t like it.”
So! Let’s read some Mary Oliver in addition to using ALL of our anxiety-coping tools. Because I think this is all of us right now, worrying:
I Worried
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
(From Swan: Poems and Prose Poems)