Global pandemic has brought about changes, and there are more to come. Some of those changes will be welcomed, and some will cause great suffering for many. And there is plenty of suffering already. The political climate brings daily shocks and outrages, as we slide toward more and more governmental control over daily life, greater isolation, a virtual terror of death. Many things about our situation are heart-rending. The looming economic disaster alone is an immense, far-reaching dark cloud that hovers over the ordinary people and families who work for a living. With the exception of the very rich and wealthy, many of us may all have to downsize before this is over.

Can I flow with the riptide of change? Can I embrace the fact that death is an inherent part of human life, even a wondrous gift of the Divine? Will I take this opportunity to contemplate death, though I and my loved ones don’t die of COVID-19? These and other questions are worth pondering.

My friend, Dr. Robert Svoboda, often quotes his mentor, Vimalanada, who counseled, “You need learn how to live with Reality, because Reality is coming to live with you.” (Dr. Robert’s monthly newsletter is a service free to all.) Reality is here, now, in the form of a global pandemic. I’ve referred to COVID-19 as a wrathful virus a few times, referring to the pandemic as something that could be a catalyst for much needed change. As much as God or Goddess is merciful and mighty, magnificent and munificent, S/he is also wrathful when wrath is needed for the evolution of life. Religio-mythic forms of Kali, the demon slaying Durga, or Shiva in his Rudra form inform us of this aspect of the Divine. Or any number of Tibetan Buddhist deities. Destruction makes some space, a little room, for Grace to come into play, and here at the end scene of the current human drama, we are in need of Grace.

After hearing a recent prayer of supplication, asking the Divine to “return things to normal,” a friend of mine posed the question: Do we really want to return to “normal” after this time of confinement? I’ve tended to call it “retreat” but I’ve heard the more poetic, ostensibly enlightened, and possibly euphemistic term “sheltering in place,” which despite its nicety, I like quite well. Whatever we want to call this interlude, and hopefully it is an interlude and not a way of life, it’s a consideration worth delving into for oneself: Do I really want to return the norm, in which we are sliding toward global demise and the potential end of human life? Should we be praying, instead, to move forward into change?

In the face of the virus, let’s not forget the looming threat of eco-disaster and global warming. I have heard (from my husband, who actually follows world news and keeps me reasonably informed) that many young people are more afraid of global warming than of COVID-19. Does the still, quiet voice of conscience ask you, as mine asks me: How much am I willing to simplify my life? Even at the level of letting go of soothing little conveniences or treats, am I prepared in body, mind, and spirit for Reality to come to live with me…say, if I have to pare it down to nothing but rice and beans? What if the postal service is discontinued? What if rioting happens close to home… By now you may be saying, “Come on! Stay in the present moment. Just deal with what’s on the plate right now.”

Okay, fair enough. But all this pragmatic pondering isn’t just a doomsday rant. I’ve always been fond of realism combined with a tendency to question the dominant mode of thinking, also known as “group mind.” Being something of an iconoclast, I am compelled to keep asking myself penetrating questions, not because I’m searching for convenient or easy answers—there are none. When there are no answers to deeply disturbing questions, we are forced into a deeper delving, a mining for gold within—the very gold from which the inner temple is built.

That gold of the spirit is the very substance that will make it possible for me to live with dignity and nobility no matter what comes. Whatever hardship we may face on this beautiful and beleaguered planet, surely, by the grace of God, in the big picture—in the long haul, maybe even for future generations unknown and unseen—the coming changes will be for the greater good. Seen from this perspective, the hidden gold in our current reality shines between the cracks. The word “faith” comes to mind. All this could just be the Mercy of the Lord.