I will start today with a short story about traveling Angels, but the most important thoughts I want to share are in the second part of the post. These are reflections on the lessons that we can learn from the very surprising and burdensome situation of the Covid-19 pandemic
A story that things are not what they seem to be
"The two traveling Angels stayed overnight with a very wealthy family living in the comfortably furnished mansion. The family was very unpleasant and refused to let the Angels stay in one of the many available rooms. Instead, they offered them a piece of flooring in a cold basement. When the Angels went to bed, the older one noticed a hole in the wall and decided to seal it.
- Why did you do that? - the younger Angel asked. - Things aren’t always what they seem - the elder replied.
The next night, the Angels stopped in the hut of the very poor, but also very hospitable, farmer and his wife. After a modest evening meal, the farmer and his wife gave the Angels their own bed. The next day, at dawn, the Angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, which was also their only source of income, died.
The Younger Angel reacted very violently and asked the older Angel: - How could you let this happen?!!! The first family had everything, they were greedy, and you still helped them! The other has so little, willingly shared with us, and you let such misfortune befall them. - Things aren’t always what they seem to us - the older Angel replied calmly. When we went to sleep in the basement of the manor house, I noticed that there was a golden treasure hidden in the wall. Since that family was so greedy, I decided they never find this treasure, so I sealed a hole in the wall. Tonight, while we were sleeping in the farmer’s and his wife’s bed, the Angel of Death came for her. Instead of her, I gave Angel the cow. Things aren’t always what they seem to us."
Author unknown
What can the story of traveling Angels teach us?
This is often the case with us. Events take a turn not as we would like or not as we think they should. However, sometimes we may not know that events will turn to our advantage.
Or we may not know that events will bring us not what we want, but what we need most at the moment (and these are often two completely different things).
The pandemic has become more and more troublesome. But who knows, maybe this planet needed it. Perhaps this was necessary for Man, the greatest predator on Earth, to finally wake up from the illusion he creates.
Isn’t it that our confinement at home has already reminded us of how important (and priceless) human relationships are?
Isn’t it that the current situation reminds us of how important it is to feel connected?
What if the feeling of loneliness and separation we often experience now is necessary for us to remember who we are as humans?
Many more questions could be asked. But the most important of them is probably:
What does the current situation want to teach us? What can we really learn from it?
For example:
burnout and work overwhelm may be needed to finally remind ourselves that we are not just our job,
mixing private and professional life in remote mode may be the trigger to finally learning how to set boundaries and do it without the feeling of guilt or fear
lockdown in apartments and houses, so that we would remember how valuable contact with Nature is.
Sometimes it takes a strong message to finally reach the listener. Sometimes the message has to really hit, the deaf recipient, right between the eyes, so that he finally hears it. Here is one of the messages that I believe the Universe wants to send us:
“I had to make you uncomfortable. Otherwise, you would have never moved.”
Would you agree?
See also:
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