So, here we are. Here we still are! Our finite way of thinking tells us that “a body at rest stays at rest,” possibly forever. There is a song, written many years ago by Pete Seeger, called “Turn.” It’s actually an interpretation of the Bible Scripture, Ecclesiastes 3:2, which talks about the seasons of our life and how they are always changing. The opening words of the song are:
“To everything (Turn Turn Turn)
There is a season (Turn Turn Turn)
And a time to every purpose under heaven“
I have been thinking about the dance and theater world in particular, because life has not just changed or been lonely for our live performance artists – it has screeched to a halt. Along with it are the gloomy predictions about the future and when live performances will actually be able to resume.
For those who are young enough to have never lived through a crisis of global proportions, it must certainly feel as though this is an event that will never end. If you are only thirty or so years old or younger, one to two years of a crisis is a much larger percentage of your life than if you have been alive decades longer. Those of us who have experienced crises have also seen them end. However, even the crises that seem endless have a purpose other than interrupting our lives.
Six months ago, when the spring weather was turning warm, I planted some beautiful flowers that would stay colorful and strong throughout the entire spring and summer. At the same time that I had freshly planted the flowers, my irises started to bloom, which had been planted in the cold fall when all the other pretty flowers were dying. If the iris bulbs had been planted in the wrong season, they wouldn’t bloom when they were supposed to, if at all. Likewise, if I planted my spring flowers when it was cold, they would die. Even if we don’t always understand why, we can see the repercussions of “bad timing.” There are some things that can have modifications in their timing, such as putting job applications to the top of the pile, or rushing through administration protocols. And of course, the best is getting a free pass to the front of the line at Disneyworld! But true growth and maturity can’t be rushed. Learning wisdom can’t be rushed. The best teacher in the world, experience, can’t be rushed. Although this world crisis will come to an end, we can’t rush it along, no matter how much we want to.
Since we have very little control over the timing of this isolation, we can control what we become because of it. For those of us who have already been through one or more crises in life, we know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Aside from how we respond, we can choose very little, and our response reveals what’s inside of us. We can allow ourselves to stop all of our creativity, shake our fists at the atmosphere, and refuse to move. We can curl up into a fetal position under the bed and refuse to come out until it’s over. OR…we can heat up our thought processes and figure out what we are to be doing during this season. We can decide to plant some bulbs in our hearts and lives that will take root and multiply and be ready to grow and bloom when this season changes. Whatever we decide to do now, the results will be seen soon enough. That’s good news…or bad news. That is our choice.
Every season in life has a fertile time to plant so that we can pluck up the results when we are meant to have them. This crisis can be one such opportunity. We want to be ready for the next season when it’s ready for us. Then we will
Dance on.
Grace Notes 