When we see each other.
I See You.
I.C.U.
We find ourselves in the unfortunate position of needing dog food in a pandemic. Here in rural Mexico, Costco is our best choice. It’s an hour away.
We leave the bubble of MEA, the bubble of our rustic surfing/agricultural village, make our way through the chile fields to the pavement, highway driving for an hour. Leaving the private space of our car, I feel something in my body and name it. Dread. Other humans being seen as danger. Joining the (germ-filled?) crowd gathering in front of the store, the sound of the metal door rolling open.
Are there groceries? Will there be running?
And then the little acts of kindness. The man passing a cart to the next person waiting.
The orderly filing into the store.
The outrageous abundance.
The man with flowers in his cart stuns me; there is resource left for fleeting beauty.
Each small gesture works as a pressure release value.
My equilibrium restored.
Meditation brings us back to the breath. This virus takes the breath, sometimes requiring support for that most basic of necessities – breath. We can remind each other to breathe simply through our basic goodness. We can be pressure relief valves for one another. This is Intensive Care.
Christine Sperber is the Chief Experience Officer and partner in MEA and a former pro snowboarder.