Souls
250,000 souls have left the USA this year. How is this possible? How did we get here? COVID-19 has changed our world permanently. Change is hard. Change is brash, abrasive, bold. Change will teach us how to live better, stronger, more fully and with deeper appreciation. I’ve seen so much fear, hatred, and trauma this year. I’ve cried so many tears of my own as well as for others. Tonglen is a concept discussed by Pema Chodron, an American nun, in her book When Things Fall Apart (aptly named for this occasion, if you ask me). Tonglen teaches us to breathe in the pain and despair and transform it: breathe out love and compassion. We are all interconnected, and COVID-19 has truly shown us just how close we all are.