April 13, 2020
We are living through a very dramatic time, and each of us is being challenged in many ways. This crisis has affected almost every person and organization in the country. All of us at the Meaningful Life Center have certainly been affected. Until this event, I could never have imagined anything that would have caused us to cancel all our in-person programs.
But that is a very small thing in the large scheme of events – it is almost beyond my imagination to think of all the restaurants, not only in Knoxville, but in the entire country, closed. And shopping malls, airports almost deserted, and on and on. But here we are.
FINDING PEACE
As I think about these times, it is hard to know what each of us can do to solve this great societal crisis. But each of us can make a monumental effort, deep within ourselves, to find inner peace and calm, and then share those qualities with everyone we touch (however that happens, in these extraordinary times). Some of the greatest figures in human history found inner peace in the worst of times. If you can do this, it will make a tremendous difference in your life and the lives of everyone you know. And who can say – perhaps the spreading ripples of your inner peace will affect many more people than you could ever dream.
As you think about this possibility, bring to mind the people you have known, and perhaps some historical figures, who seem to have found inner peace. Reflect on their lives, who they were and how they lived. Then ask yourself: How were they able to find inner peace? Try to imagine your way into their lives. Many of them likely had very real challenges. How did they get beyond those challenges to a place of peace?
There are, of course, many books about finding peace. Below are some of the classics, most pretty short (don’t want to create stress around not finishing a book). Most of them can be downloaded either on Kindle or listened to on Audible. If you are not familiar with or have not used Audible – https://www.audible.com – they have an amazing number of recorded books. You can join directly, or through Amazon, and get a couple of books free as a new member. Or I would be happy to give you one of the following recorded books through Audible. Just send an email telling me which one you would like – David1@ameaningfullife.org
Books that might help in finding inner peace:
- Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (the Stephen Mitchell version is good)
- Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words by Peace Pilgrim
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (I like the translation, The Emperor’s Handbook by Scot and David Hicks, but there are many)
- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating
- Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
- When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice For Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
- Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics by Carol Flinders
- Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It’s All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson
- Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (I like the Hilda Rosner translation)
- The Way of the Pilgrim by Anonymous
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
- The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
- The Trial and the Death of Socrates by Plato
Another resource is the National Emergency Library, a digital collection of 1.4 million books. During this crisis time, anyone, anywhere in the world, can check books out of this library—for free—until June 30th, or the end of the emergency. https://archive.org/details/nationalemergencylibrary
Finally, the Meaningful Life Center is developing on-line programs, two of which are available now. Visit our web site for information: https://meaningfullifecenter.org
HELPING OTHERS
Besides finding and sharing peace and calm, the other thing we each can do is help the people around us, and those in the most need. If you do this, it will not only help you as an individual, but if enough of us do this, it will change for the better who we are as a community and as a country. Help your neighbors and friends as much as you can, and if you have the resources, here are some organizational efforts that seem to be responding in a valuable way to this crisis:
Volunteer East Tennessee
https://www.volunteeretn.org/search?sort_c=&sort_o=&opportunity_id=&page=1
Knoxville Boys and Girls Club is providing food for children out of school:
https://bgctnv.org
The Knox County School system is doing the same:
https://www.knoxschools.org/Page/21802
Meals on Wheels for the elderly and those most in need:
http://www.knoxseniors.org/mobile/
Second Harvest – providing food for those who need it:
https://secondharvestetn.org
Cherokee Health Systems provides a wide range of care for many people in our community who need medical, mental and emotional help
https://www.cherokeehealth.com/how-to-help
An organization that is focusing on people who need food:
https://www.expensify.org/hunger#reimbursement
A central location to find ways to help is the Knox County COVID-19 Response Fund:
https://www.uwgk.org
I don’t know how the spread of COVID-19 is affecting these organizations, but I think all of them are continuing to provide help in some way. Contact the ones that seem most valuable to you to find out how you might help.
May you be well,
May you find a measure of peace during this time of crisis,
David White