Good morning! It’s around 9 AM on a Thursday that in normal times would have Heritage Heights residents gathering in the Bistro for a time of conversation about life and spirituality. And yet, here we are on the other side of COVID-19 precautions, trying to learn how might continue to connect in these meaningful ways while keep safe and following the precautionary guidelines.

We’re not set up for it quite yet, but I think next Morning Brew we’ll try doing through Zoom. Many in our community had never heard about Zoom. Quickly it’s becoming a part of more and more people’s vocabulary as groups begin taking advantage of the technology that can connect us despite our distancing. Take a minute to watch this video tutorial of how to “join a meeting.” It will be worth the time and momentary headache to learn new technologies as we enter into an extended time of distancing. We realize that some residents don’t have access to the internet, so one of the nice things about Zoom is that it’s an inclusive meeting, that some can join using a traditional telephone.

Our emotional and spiritual well being is so important for our overall health. We in the Spiritual Care and Education Department will continue to do our best to help provide resources to support residents and create spaces for connection and learning in this new time. Hanging on Michelle’s office door right now is something that I want to bring to this Morning Brew blog. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and take some time to read through the list and consider what resonates with you and what doesn’t. Take what inspires you and leave the rest. Make sure in all of this, to remember that you are loved and you are not alone. We’re all in this together and together will support one another through this time, even as we have in other hard times. I look forward to doing Morning Brew again but for now I hope this blog post can give you a little more hope and courage for this day.

Grace and peace to you.

Alexander Levering Kern‘s “Caring for Self and Others in Times of Trouble: Some Spiritual Tools and Tips”

1. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe some more. Take time in your day, at any moment, to take ten deep even breaths. Carve out 5-10 minutes to meditate or practice mindfulness or contemplative prayer. Start here, now, wherever you are.
2. Ground yourself in the present moment. Focus your awareness on something real, enduring, or beautiful in your surroundings. Look up often. Discover the wonder and awe that is already here.
3. Acknowledge your fears, anxieties, concerns. Offer them up in prayer, if you pray. Write them in your journal. Share them with others. Feel what you feel, honor it, and know that it is not the final word.
4. Remember you are not alone. Ever. You are surrounded by care and support. Reach out.
5. Create and sustain community. Show up for one another. Listen compassionately. Practice empathy. Even while avoiding “close physical contact,” message the people you care about. Stand with those most vulnerable and those who suffer the brunt of prejudice and fear. Check in on folks. Call your mother, father, guardian, mentor, little sibling, long lost friend.
6. Unplug, judiciously. While staying aware of developments, do not let the Corona-chaos govern you, but forgive yourself when and if it does.
7. Practice kindness. There is a temptation in health scares to view others as potential threats. Remember we are in this together. While practicing health guidelines and appropriate caution, remember to engage one another. Smile when you can. Bring good deeds and good energy into our world.
8. Stay healthy through sleep, diet, exercise. See healing and wellness holistically – mind, body, and spirit.
9. Make art. Discover, imagine, engage your hopes and fears, the beauty and ugliness of our world. Write, paint, sing, dance, soar.
10. Practice gratitude. In the face of crises, make note of the things for which you are grateful: your breath, the particular shade of the sky at dusk – or dawn. The color blue, the color green, the gifts and strengths you have, other people in your life, the ability to laugh. A pet.
11. Connect with your spiritual, religious, humanist, cultural, or other communities. Find strength and solace and power in traditions, texts, rituals, practices, holy times and seasons.
12. Pray as you are able, silently, through song, in readings, through ancestors. Remember the long view of history, the rhythms and cycles of nature, the invisible threads that connect us all.
13. Practice hope. Trust in the future and our power to endure and persist, to live fully into the goodness that awaits.