Covid -19 may be indiscriminate in whom it affects but as this virus proceeds, we are beginning to see more and more awareness of the inequalities in society that it is highlighting.
I was very cheered to read a post from an ‘spiritual’ Instagram person who has half a million followers this week. She normally posts all sorts of lovely spiritual inspirational quotes but it seemed to hit her, like it has hit me many times in the past, that no-one who is fighting to survive has the luxury to be spiritual.
I have often mused about the spiritual inspirers who seem to live in ‘ivory towers’ disconnected from the reality of the real world out there. They run courses attended by people who pay a lot of money and are all on their wavelength. As this person reminded me this week, that’s all well and good but the world isn’t full of like-minded people. Many people out there are suffering in lots of ways and they need support and help to make their lives equal to ours before they can start to contemplate bringing in the light or raising their vibrations. I know everyone has their own role to play and the inspirers have a place, but now we all need to focus on sorting out these terrible inequalities.
I was very heartened to hear that there is a possibility that the Saudi’s (backed by the US and the UK) will step back from the many years of aggression in the war against the Iranian backed group in the Yemen. Maybe the fact that half the Saudi Royal family have the virus is making them rethink. They are realising that war cannot continue in these circumstances. I pray that all other wars will also cease.
On a personal note, I felt the inequalities this week. As I’m only doing a weekly shop now, my trolley was very full, as I braved the supermarket clad in mask and scarf. (I was also doing a shop for a friend, so it wasn’t all mine). I noticed a young teenage girl and her brother (or maybe friend, I don’t know) wandering round the supermarket looking a bit bewildered. They were both thin and she in particular looked as if she wasn’t on a very healthy diet. They weren’t getting a lot and I was suddenly very conscious of my bulging trolley, my privileged protective builder’s mask and the car that waited outside for me to drive home with my goods.
On my return home I passed them dragging the small trolley behind them (like a newspaper round trolley) which obviously didn’t have a lot in it. They have really bothered me since. I wished I’d gone to them and given them some cash to get more food- but we’re not supposed to go near people or pass cash to anyone, in case we unknowingly have the infection. I wondered if they were teenage carers for a sick parent. I worried that they didn’t know about food banks or how to get help. Thinking about them really brought it home to me how even people living in the same town can have such vastly different circumstances.
Many people out there are being caring and I’m hoping that they have kind neighbours who see they might need help or know their circumstances. Too late for me to do anything, I mentioned my worries to a friend who said that all I can do is pray that they get help. So I am. I’ll continue to do what I can in a practical way for those I can physically help but for those I can’t, then I pray for equality and justice for everyone. They say all change starts in people’s minds-let’s hope they are right. Have a good week and stay safe.
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