day 12

Dang missed a day. It is what it is.

During virtual Easter service (thanks Amy) the pastor quoted Kate Bowler who recently published a NYT piece How to Live in the Face of Fear: Lessons from a Cancer Survivor. In it she discusses parallels of what people are experiencing now and what she went through leading up to and during her cancer diagnosis.

Not knowledgeable enough to explore other parts of the sermon (A Secular World was referenced which also seems relevant), but resonated deeply with this quote:

“…we’ve drunk too deeply from the well of invincibility” - Kate Bowler

Our lives have been built up on this facade of control. Even more so if you live in a major coastal city, bonus points if you live in the Bay. The penetration of tech and the vision / language around has shaped much of our thinking and comes down to this concept of improving the world through convenience, access and control.

No surprise having it all swept away has been jolting.

Personally I’ve experienced a mixture of of fear, gratitude and connection. Connection in the sense that conversations hit different, run deeper than before. There’s an intonation in the casual “How are you?” that reveals an inquisition, tinged with healthy desperation, that says “How are you really doing? Because if you’re willing to go there I’m willing to go there with you.”

Usually we do everything we can to avoid confronting vulnerability. Much less dwell in it. Far less reveal it.

For many of us this is the first time we’re experiencing our fragility up close and personal & due to unique circumstances, we’re confronting it together.