Today is Easter. We are all quarantined because of COVID19, and so we watched inspirational talks on social media, and shared pictures of what we baked, and zoomed with our families.
At noon, I watched Andrea Bocelli live stream from Milan Italy. I watched a man in a beautiful church, a man who couldn’t see anything of the beauty around him stand there and sing his heart out as his offering to the world. There were camera shots of the empty streets in Italian cities. As Bocelli poured out his gift for us all.
It was breathtaking.
It made me realize that one of the most moving things about this quarantine is to watch how people are just pouring themselves out to one another to say, “I’m here, I see you, I’m with you.” Singers are singing to the world from their homes, from isolated places. For free. A trumpeter plays from a balcony in Italy. In Missoula Montana, the entire town howls together at 7pm to show their support for the essential care workers. In the town of Belper in the UK, residents lean out of their windows at 6:30 each evening a “moo” together. Oprah invites us into her kitchen to cook. Preachers and teachers continue to speak words of hope across the miles. Miki808 holds a dance party for us every day on Instagram. And most of this has no personal gain attached to it. The moo-ers and the trumpeters and the howlers are not getting paid for it. It’s just for love and solidarity and support.
It’s so lovely.
We’re in the midst of an experience which brings us face to face with the reality that we have no real control over our lives -- our loved ones could become sick and die, our jobs could disappear any minute, our homes, our retirements. And yet, faced with this reality that we so often don’t have to acknowledge, our instinct is to throw whatever small gift (or large gift if you’re Andrea Bocelli) we have out into the universe for each other…
The collective body of humanity seems to be saying, “I can’t save your job, your bank account or even your life, but here’s my song, here’s the flower I saw on my walk today, here’s a joke, here’s the bread I baked today, here’s a dance I am dancing , here’s my howl or my moo….. I wanted to share it with you so you don’t feel alone.”
It brings me to tears.
Life from death.
Happy Easter.
