April 2020 HBB President Update

 

I've been thinking a lot about the quote above recently and how, to me, 2020 seems to be doing both. We are being asked a lot of questions right now. How do we respond to the pandemic? How do we best take care of ourselves and others? What do we truly value? What will our day-to-day lives be like on the other side of this? What is it that we are feeling?

 

I believe we're being offered the opportunity to divine answers, too. What we truly value and hold dear is clearer than perhaps it has ever been for some of us. And as for feelings, most of us are sitting with a mix of sadness, anger, apprehension, and grief. The surrealism of life going on in some ways in the middle of pandemic when so much of life is halted is another reality.

 

In the middle of all the tumult, our community has lost a dear friend, mentor, leader, and champion. Dr. Laura Hart passed away on April 1, 2020. I had the distinct privilege to work closely with Laura and Lisa Anselme on the current Healing Touch textbook and she was my mentor for instructor training. I shall always remember Laura for her tenacity, compassion, and no-nonsense demeanor. She was a straight shooter with a heart of gold who will be sorely missed. I am grateful for the memories I have.

 

Many of us have been finding respite and comfort in our hobbies and interests to manage the mix of emotions in which we're now living. I share a few below from which I continue to draw inspiration.

 

by Lucille Clifton

 

 

~Alice Walker, from the foreword to Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon

 

~Haruki Murakami

 

By Denise Levertov

 

I have a small grain of hope-

one small crystal that gleams

clear colors out of transparency.

 

I need more.

 

I break off a fragment

to send you.

 

Please take

this grain of a grain of hope

so that mine won't shrink.

 

Please share your fragment

so that yours will grow.

 

Only so, by division,

will hope increase,

 

like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower

unless you distribute

the clustered roots, unlikely source-

clumsy and earth-covered-

of grace.

 

In the meantime, self-care is not an option these days. Indeed, it never was. Focus on the Attributes of the Heart, particularly Innate Harmony as was observed by Myra Tovey, who shared in a recent email to Lisa Anselme and me the following: "I would like to suggest that we focus on the Attribute of the Heart, Innate Harmony, 'being calm in the midst of chaos'. That will help transform fear into love."

 

In closing, I'm reminded of the fifth Attribute of the Heart, what Bonnie Johnson has described as "joy-filled" service. None of us can do everything, but each of us can do something. Our skills as students, practitioners, and instructors of Healing Touch are vital to our wellbeing and a gift to others. In that spirit of service, I remind you of our call for nominations for upcoming vacancies on the Board of Directors. Nominations can be submitted through April 30, 2020.

 

Be safe, be well,