Love In The Time of Coronavirus

Rebecca Winn is an artist with words and her new book, new book One Hundred Daffodils; Finding Beauty, Grace, and Meaning When Things Fall Apart, proves the underestimated power of beauty to heal our deepest wounds.

Using her garden, nature, and a delightful smattering of wild creatures, she weaves her midlife catastrophe into a beautifully written story of raw vulnerability, courage, and transformation.

I was totally captivated and entranced.

Today she is guest blogging to share her thoughts on love during this time of crisis:

“We are all connected.” A phrase so common, it has become a meaningless spiritual cliche. Or has it?

Four months ago we could watch the news unfolding in China with a detachment that distance and depersonalization afforded us. Today, we are sheltering in place, surrounded by fear so palpable even the skeptics are panic buying, and the most committed introverts confess that they only want to be alone when it’s their choice.

And yet, only a few days into self-quarantine, something magical has also happened. Musicians are sharing their music for free during social media Live events. Authors whose book tours have been cancelled (including my own) are reading from their books online. People are reaching out to help one another in ways heretofore unimagined. Some property owners are telling restaurants to pay their employees instead of their rent.

Complete strangers in the book world have contacted me offering to help me promote my book with Live events, podcasts and blogs. Movie studios are making new releases accessible online. Neighbors with fruit bearing trees in California are putting boxes of produce on the curb for anyone who needs it. Social media is filled with posts about the beauty of the earth and how grateful people are for those they love. News feeds that were saturated with angry political posts just days before are filled with words and images designed to comfort, uplift and reassure. Photographs of spring unfolding abound, and every tiny, green point of hope that pushes through the earth and blossoms despite this chaos, serves to remind us that the cycles of the earth are continuous, and this too shall pass. In times of crisis, when danger is present and fear abounds, nature persists, humanity’s love rises up, and we are reminded that people are mostly good — even if we disagree with them about some things.

We have been made acutely aware of how closely we share our “personal space”, and how much we touch each other. We now know how inescapably connected we are. The coronavirus known as COVID-19 has single-handedly made mindfulness mainstream. There is a lesson to be learned when “social distancing” is the thing that brings us together. Not only are we connected, we realize how much we need that connection. Every breath we take… the very air we breathe is shared with every other person on this planet. Everything we touch carries our contact for far longer than we ever imagined. We cannot escape that, nor should we want to. The spaces where we move, live and breathe connect us, and that is a good thing when we understand it, respect it and use it honorably.

Love manifests in many ways, sometimes in ways which are unexpected and not readily understood, but we have been given a chance to slow down. This sheltering time is an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves, and be truly present with our loved ones without the pressing demands of our next appointment. We have been given time to turn within. To contemplate. To connect. To remember what really matters. To get out of the rat race and back into the human race. To remember how to be love.”

Rebecca’s book One Hundred Daffodils; Finding Beauty, Grace, and Meaning When Things Fall Apart, is releasing worldwide today, March 24, 2020 through Grand Central Publishing/Hachette.

In lieu of a book tour, she is offering Moments of Peace and Beauty from her garden as spring unfolds, and will be reading essays from her book on her inspirational Facebook page, www.facebook.com/WhimsicalGardens and on Instagram @rebeccawinn.writer

Wishing you love, laughter and magical kisses,

Arielle