Of national crises …. and weeding

I wrote this blog last year May, when there was political turmoil in Jamaica.  I never posted it.  Today, with London burning and stock markets tumbling, it seems just as relevant – my reminder to myself to hold a place of peace.

 

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As the political crisis in my homeland Jamaica took a turn for the even worse yesterday, I awoke in Toronto to a warm, sunny, peaceful Victoria Day.  It was quiet, as befits a public holiday, with my neighbours still to awake, their children whose feet bang and pound the floor interminately in the apartment above me apparently sleeping in.

 

I noticed my body – neck tight, shoulders stiff and back achy.  My eyes felt heavy and my forehead throbbed.  I grasped for my morning medication – coffee – and sat with my journal and my Daily Word.  “World Peace” is the theme for today and the affirmation is “I promote harmony by being at peace”.  Oh dear – there goes Spirit speaking directly to me just when I need it.  I decided to listen, and to sit with the thought of peace.  And then I journalled.

 

I first affirmed the thoughts of peace.  And then I forgave – all politicians, all government workers, all dons and criminals, everyone who had in any way contributed to this crisis.  And then I forgave myself for any thought, word and deed that could have contributed in any way.

 

By now, my doggies were sending me signals that national crisis or not, it was time for their walk!  So off I went, deliberately leaving my cell phone so that no-one could disturb my peaceful walk.  They trotted along, me straining to keep pace, Itsy sniffing every bush and , Cloud making after everything that moved like a squirrel, and Betty beside me, “duty” having been done, just wanting to get home to snooze on the sofa.

 

Continuing my morning of peace, gardening was next …. I have been meaning to weed my little patch of yard for some weeks now.  Frankly, I loved the spread of yellow dandelion flowers but now that they have turned into puffs I am not so sure.  And so I decided to weed.  And as I weeded, I mused on the parallels between crises and weeding.

 

Just like the crisis, the weeds start out small, few and so pretty.  Then, it’s a carpet of pretty yellow dandelion flowers, reminiscent of William Wordsworth’s line in his famous poem – “a host of golden daffodils” .  But daffodils these are not, for soon the golden host turns brown.  Just when I am thinking “time to weed” – along comes more prettiness – little orbs of perfectly symmetrical dandelion puffs!  Fooled again!

 

But today I decided that this had gone far enough and so I began weeding.  And here’s what I observed in the moments of weeding presence:

1. Difficult situations, like weeds, often start out looking very attractive
2. Delaying action causes more weeds and causes the weeds to develop deep roots.  In crisis situations, delaying action inevitably causes more and bigger problems
3. To remove the weeds, you must dig beneath the roots – so it is in a crisis situation, you must get to the roots, otherwise the solution is temporary
4. When you take out the weed at the root, some grass will be taken out too.  Unfortunately, when you dig really deep into a crisis situation, some good people and institutions may get hurt
5. Once you take out the weed at the root, an empty space appears.  In that empty space will grow another weed – or you can choose to plant whatever you want.  In a crisis situation there will be gaps and gaping holes where everything is laid bare.  If they are not filled, then more weeds will grow.  BUT, we can CHOOSE to plant whatever we want in that lovely, uprooted and now welcoming soil

 

As we face this national “crisis” it is good to remain in a place of personal peace and from that place, to use the opportunities presented by the crisis for our own personal weeding.