Cambridge-based therapist and spiritual director at Harvard University Katherine Stiles offers the following meditation on Pablo Neruda’s well-loved poem “Keeping Quiet” during this time of pandemic. She reminds us that we will be back to hugs and handshakes. Concerts and movies. Protests and elections. Travels and adventures. Gatherings. We will find a new normal. But for now, we have to step back in order to care for each other. The time is now. We must act in a powerful and skillful way to “Flatten the Curve” and stop the viral spread of fear and disease. Today ask yourself: What is being asked of us as we confront this global crisis, which is also a global opportunity to reset? What is being asked of us as we contemplate right action in such crazy times? What would it look like if we took a breath, hunkered down and stopped for a few precious moments to “all be together in a sudden strangeness”? What would it look like if we just kept still? Just for a bit.
