Photograph by Kea Mowat via Unsplash

This moment that humanity is experiencing can be considered a door or a hole. It is up to you to decide whether you fall into the hole or go through the door. If you consume the news 24/7, with negative energy, constantly nervous, with pessimism, you will fall into this hole. But if you take the opportunity to look at yourself, to consider life and death, to take care of yourself and others, then you will go through the portal.

Take care of your home, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual home. When you take care of yourself, you take care of others at the same time.

Do not underestimate the spiritual dimension of this crisis. Adopt the perspective of an eagle that sees everything from above – with an expanded view…

You have a right to be strong and positive. And there is no other way to do that than to maintain a positive, happy and light-filled attitude. This has nothing to do with alienation (ignorance of the world). It is a strategy of resistance…Make it a habit to encounter the sacred every day.

There are storms in our world, and we fear bigger ones are coming. Connect with your spiritual home, the meditation inspires. However, our temporal selves want to shout “But I’m worried about the real chaos, crisis, and harm to many people.” We will not be blind to those affected by the storm, as the meditation describes so poignantly: “This has nothing to do with alienation (ignorance of the world).” To see through spiritual lenses does not ignore the reality of people hurting. But we must tend to the sacred because we are people in whom the Spirit of God dwells.

Humans have long considered whether we are human beings having a spiritual experience or spiritual beings having a human experience. To view yourself as a spiritual being changes how you see things, and how you see things makes all the difference in the quality of your life. To despair leads to the hole. To connect with your spiritual home leads through the door.

Consider the example of Chicago attorney and business investor Horatio Spafford. In the late 1800s, the great Chicago fire wiped out many of his real estate holdings. Two years later, as his wife and four daughters sailed across the Atlantic, a ship collided with theirs and sank it. His wife survived, but their four daughters drowned. Horatio Spafford took a ship to be with his wife. On the Atlantic crossing, the captain of his ship called Horatio to his cabin to tell him that they were passing over the spot where his four daughters had perished. Horatio walked out of the captain’s cabin, stood at the rail as he passed over the watery grave of his four beloved daughters and on that spot, took out his pen and wrote the text for the hymn:

“When peace, like a river,
upholds me each day,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’
It is well, with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.”

To be able to sing “It is well with my soul” in the midst of any crisis, personal or national, is to choose the door instead of the hole. The meditation encourages “Do not underestimate the spiritual dimension of this crisis. Adopt the perspective of an eagle that sees everything from above with a broader vision.” Isaiah (40:31) would agree: “… those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles…” The word wait is a good substitution for the word trust. Those who trust in God shall renew their strength…. and shall renew their perspective to see everything from above with a broader vision.

Change how you begin your day by making a habit of encountering the sacred every morning. What is the first thing many people do when they wake up, after tending to biological needs? It is often to rush to the internet to check the news, weather, stocks, sports, emails, and social media posts. That is the common way to begin a day. Why not choose the door instead of the hole by beginning each day with a simple verse or a phrase, sort of a mantra which has the potential to change how you see things. 

For example, when your toes touch the floor, consider reciting to yourself a Psalm like 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” You might even take poetic license to change the pronoun, to begin your day affirming “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let me rejoice and be glad in it.” By adopting this verse as your mantra, you indicate your desire to find something to be joyful about in this day. No matter what happens in your waking hours, you will find some joy. Not only that, but perhaps you also declare your intent to bring joy to someone else today. At the least, do no harm:  do nothing to take joy away from another. Be glad. Easy to say on a good day. On days when storm clouds threaten darkness, the mantra reminds you that you intend to find something to be glad about. If it does not fall into your lap, search for it. When something really bad happens, say to God: “I am glad for…”

The first words of the Psalm remind us to live in the present and to not miss the moment. This day is God’s day. It is a summary of the Bible’s overall message about where you should live: not in the past, not in the future, but to live in the present. This day. 

However chaotic the current global situation becomes, make a habit of encountering the sacred every day. View life through spiritual lenses and allow that to transform how you see things.