We cancelled our Community Seder. We suspended our programing. We have turned to Zoom for board meetings and rituals. We are experiencing isolation, separation from friends, organizations, programs and entertainment. Culture, information, social connection have all been squeezed into a narrow bandwidth – delivered by cable, internet or wireless signals.
For some of us, the break in our routines has focused our attention inward. Relieved of our usual schedules, we suddenly have time and opportunity to reflect. How did we spend yesterday, last week? Are we making the most of this pause in life as usual?
In spiritual tradition, it is called “living counted hours.” A ‘counted hour’ is an hour lived on purpose. Whether we devote the next hour to introspection, spending time with loved ones, reading, exercise or binge watching something on tv, we might just take a moment to consider whether we have made that hour count. Living counted hours can add up to living counted days. And with the passage of each day, as we take a page off our conceptual wall calendar, we might consider whether that day gets tossed in the trash or whether it has value. Counted days become “days that count.”
At the Preservation Society’s last board meeting, we asked “what can we do to help?” We decided to encourage members to donate to three local food distribution organizations. That is a start. We will continue to ask that question and we’re confident that there will be many answers that will count.
