Socially Isolated but Spiritually Connected
Balance

Egrets on Captiva Island, Florida
Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birds’ wings.  — Rumi

Dear Mayfield,

When I was a much younger pastor and theologian I found the concept of balance somewhat boring from a theological or spiritual point of view. I usually wanted to sink my teeth into something that appeared to have more substance like justice or right relationship, or joy, or hope, or creativity, or compassion, or wisdom. Even though I had fond memories of the balancing act of playgrounds in my childhood on the seesaw or teeter totter, I still viewed balance as somewhat routine. It was something you simply had to tend to.

Earlier this year in January and February, I led two retreats, one with UCC clergy in the Illinois South Conference and one with Lutheran clergywomen in Rockford. Both groups took part in a balancing activity that made use of the game of Jenga with its block tower composed of rows of three blocks, one on top of the other. As participants carefully removed blocks from one of four towers that had been set up, they named realities they knew in their ministry that chewed away at their stability or their firm footing. People were honest. The rooms reverberated with understanding and laughter. On one of those retreats, three of the towers were built on a more stable table than the fourth. And yet it was the fourth one, the most vulnerable, that remained standing the longest. Also one of the groups continued to play with towers that were partially but not completely collapsed, still seeking to uphold balance in a compromised setting. That activity in the retreat design with both groups was one of my favorite parts of each retreat. The category of balance has become much more interesting and complex for me than it once was.

These weeks of Covid-19 with sheltering in place, work and school at home, more vigilant attention to safety, and risky rhythms for essential workers, present us with a multitude of moments that reveal balance.

• How do we allow ourselves space to honestly name the hard stuff — boredom, frustration, anger, loneliness, grief, and fear without forgetting what else we are experiencing — gratitude, good humor, delight in irrepressible spring, a shedding of much of our previous running around, or perhaps the decision to introduce a new dog or cat into our lives because we have the time now to welcome and train them.
• What do we do with limitations we didn’t choose at the same time that there is refreshment in days that are simpler?
• Like Goldilocks, how do we decide whether a quantity of news watching is too much, too little, or just right?
• If one of us or someone we love has to go to work, in an essential field, and is more likely to be exposed, where is the line between the value of doing something that is life-giving and matters greatly over and against concern about getting sick?
• Staring into an uncertain future around Covid-19, our resilience rests not only on our confidence in how we will cope collectively but also on a realistic assessment of the dangers and difficulties ahead.
• If we haven’t been touched up-close and personally by Covid-19, can we be both thankful for that blessing and intentionally mindful of other people and neighborhoods and countries where the anguish and loss are deep and wide? Are there safe contributions we might make around that balance?

• One particularly tricky balance is our desire to return to what was and our recognition that we must release some of what used to be for a more loving, earth-aware, healthy, and interconnected future.
• Disappointment over numerous postponed or cancelled celebrations — birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, religious practices and holidays, has been accompanied by creative, out-of-the-box alternatives.

This is a sampling of current balancing acts; you might well be able to add additional ones.

Returning to the image of pairs of birds’ wings from the Rumi quote just beneath todays’s photo, I think of the amazement I feel if I’m present as a great blue heron rises in flight. They are sizeable birds, somewhat awkward but also able to perch adroitly on one of their very slender wading legs. And when they unfold and take flight on powerful wings, it is with an unexpected beauty that balances their distinct profile in the sky. In the context of Covid-19, we have to wade out and wait in waters that frequently are not still. We have to be vigilant about going outside, moving amongst others, assessing our own health, shopping, keeping our distance, wearing a mask, and the list goes on and on.  Let us explore, trust, and nurture our continuing capacity for balance and pray for the balance of others, open to what we can coordinate together to take flight for the journey ahead for the wellbeing of all.

Peace, Martha