Beginnings and also endings

Opposite emotions may be difficult

In so many ways right now, we find ourselves experiencing beginnings and endings at the same time. It is challenging to hold the emotions and energy of both. This week the Electoral College affirmed the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. This marks the ending of the current Republican administration and the beginning of the Democrat administration. Depending on which side you were on, you may feel anger, fear and disappointment, or you may feel relief, hope and inspiration.

This is also the week that covid-19 vaccines are being delivered to healthcare facilities. This is the beginning of the end of the pandemic. For so many, it is too little too late. Over 300,000 people have lost their lives, and we know there are more horrendous deaths coming because of the high infection rate. At this moment, I have a friend whose son is seriously ill with covid-19. His son is diabetic. The hospital sent him home because it was too dangerous at the hospital. After 22 days, he continues to worsen. Another friend is quarantining because he has covid-19 symptoms after visiting his dying mother, and he won’t get his test results for another week. There is hope on the horizon, but death is still on our doorstep.

This is happening in the midst of the season of holidays in several faith traditions. Almost everyone I know has canceled plans to be with family and are simplifying their celebrations. There is loss in not being together, especially for our elders. Many fear this might be their last Hanukkah or Christmas, and it breaks their hearts to spend it alone.

The true challenge amidst these beginnings and endings is to find our deepest source of inner peace, despite the craziness of the world. Beginnings and endings are cycles and are a part of nature and a part of life. We are about to enter winter — a time of cold and darkness, a time of slowing down and hibernating. Sometimes it is hard to remember that spring, summer and fall will follow. There are the cycles of morning, afternoon and evening, the cycles of the moon, the cycles of the tides.

When everything else seems chaotic, it helps me to slow down and to tune into these natural cycles of nature and of being human. I remind myself of the Sufi wisdom, “This too shall pass.”

It also helps me to tap into that deep Source that is beyond cycles, that is the center of all circles. This Source is beyond words, beyond suffering, beyond joy and sadness. It is within and all around us. Prayer, music, being in nature, sitting by the fireplace, holding a loved one’s hands are all opportunities to connect with Source. My prayer is that you find a few moments to renew this sacred connection beyond beginnings and endings.