Sovereignty and Covid

It is not lost on me that Corona means crown and sovereignty is all about claiming one’s own kingdom. As in: “I am the Queen of my domain, my energy space, my field. I take full responsibility for this, while letting others take full responsibility for what is theirs.

It is in this, the letting others be responsible for what’s theirs while being completely responsible for what’s ours, that we see the huge opportunity in the current Covid crisis. This pandemic has heightened the divisive energy that is already so present in our country- us versus them, good versus bad, right versus wrong. The corona virus is a toxin to our bodies and this divisive energy is a toxin to our bodies and spirits.

AND, this means that every time I find myself in a place of division, a place of judgment of other, I get to choose to come back to myself with love. I get to choose to not enter into and add to that energy of divisiveness. At the same time, I get to choose what creates safety for me- if I wear a mask, where I wear a mask, who I choose to be around, where my child goes or does not go. I get to take responsibility for myself. And I get to practice clear communication with others, getting consent where appropriate, and making sure we’re on the same page about safety precautions. The opportunities for choosing sovereignty are endless. Each time we do, we shift the energy and in turn raise consciousness.

It is the energy of us/them, right/wrong that has been the underbelly of racism, white supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia, and transphobia. We need a consciousness shift, out of this old paradigm. What is the new paradigm? I choose to lean into love. I choose to lean into trust that we are all on our divine paths. What if we could choose this vibration of trust? I trust you because I trust your journey, not because you live the way I live. And this is not about forgoing our boundaries to love others, or avoiding or denying our needs to keep the peace. This is about sovereignty. I will love myself SO much that I will live my life in alignment with what feels true and safe for me, while allowing others to do the same.

This part is subtle and important, because there are ways that I and many others have hid behind ideas of oneness and love for all, not standing up to things like racism or other injustices. This is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about energy and consciousness. I can take a stand against police brutality of Black people because I feel this is my responsibility as a
sovereign soul in a White body. I can do this while not being in judgment of others. Because it’s ALSO my responsibility as a sovereign soul to work with and through the energy of division and judgment that is contributing to this toxic energy in the collective.

How?! I know, this part feels hard. And I am not perfect at it! Here’s how I work with it- I feel into the part of me that is judging, that is dividing the world into good and bad. And I feel that in my body. I feel the sensations, the textures. I cry if tears want to come, I let the energy of anger move me into pushing against a wall and growling if that feels right. I get real present
with it and then, over time, I watch it move. And then sometimes, on a good day, I find my center, and I realize that judging others is not mine to do. It’s not mine to do. And it’s gone, (for that moment anyway). And it is from this place I can show up more powerfully to serve the world. So much love to all of you on this journey with me. We are all in this together.

Here is one of my favorite poems:

Please Call Me By My True Names

Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow— even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving to be a bud on a Spring branch, to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, to fear and to hope. The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that is alive.

I am a mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river. And I am the bird that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am a frog swimming happily in the clear water of a pond. And I am the grass-snake that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones, my legs as thin as bamboo sticks. And I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat, who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate. And I am also the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands. And I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to my people dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth. My pain is like a river of tears, so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up and the door of my heart could be left open, the door of compassion.

-Thich Nhat Hanh