Be Thou My Vision in This Present Darkness

Nature is being restored thanks to COVID-19. Let’s heed the wake-up call

| Topics: Nature, Coronavirus
Corona has been a boon for nature.
Photo: Anat Hermony/Flash90

Everyone is talking about the fact that because we are in lockdown the world is beginning to clean itself up. Air pollution has diminished, the water is getting cleaner and the air becoming easier to breath. Nature is restoring herself.

It is said that humankind could not stop from spoiling the planet long enough to save ourselves. We have taken advantage of nature, until nature herself is crying out for help. Now they say that Corona, with all its fear, does good to the earth.

 

Like a plague in Egypt

I compare it to the plagues in Egypt. The idea that sometimes just listening can save us from calamities. Pharaoh didn’t listen to Moses and Aaron who came begging him to “Let my people go.” He did not listen to the screams of the Israelites who could no longer endure the hard work. Nor did he listen to his own people or advisors begging him to release the Israelites before anything bad happened.

Cries came to Pharaoh from many corners, but he would not listen. On the contrary, his heart became harder and his exploitation of Israel unbearable.

My conclusion? A cry that comes from so many places and in so many ways, and yet no one is listening, turns bad and becomes an affliction and a blight. These “cries” are signals to us to be attentive to something that is much greater than us, our personal needs or egoism.

Pharaoh would not listen and so came the plagues and diseases upon him, his people and his empire. And the more he closed his ears the harder the hit until it became a major disaster.

Corona is like a plague, an affliction that we should listen to and understand that the earth can no longer endure the abuse. Our world is on the verge of destruction. If this sounds scary and intimidating, it should. But at the same time there is also some good news that goes with the alarm.

Nature recovers quickly. After just a month of Corona forcing us to stop abusing our planet, pollution has been reduced, the air clearer and water cleaner. Nature is recovering at incredible speed.

We too are an integral part of this nature. Hence if we agree to listen, if we learn and apply the necessary conclusions from the cries, we too will be restored, and quickly.

Just like nature, if we put less pollution into our bodies (we all know what we should be eating); if we pay attention not to burden ourselves beyond our abilities (we all know our limits); then we will look healthier, sound more lucid and the fogs that separate us from ourselves and from one another will dissipate. We will reconnect to nature, to ourselves as God’s children and the Spirit of God will dwell within us.

The photo above was taken from my home, which is 50 miles from the sea. On normal days visibility is poor, there is a haze in the air that hides the landscape. Suddenly, yesterday we could see the Mediterranean Sea and even her waves.

Now we can even say, “We have a house by the sea.”

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