Advent Week 2 Love: in COVID Times

As lock downs went into effect this past Sunday in my state of California, I lit Advent candle week 2 ~ love. Across the wide world, stay-at-home orders are being enforced. The people of the United States and all around the globe, are needing love like never before in our lifetimes. As I contemplate the Advent candle of love, I ponder the cycle of expansion and contraction that can be seen in every natural thing: 

• Candle flame burning, receding
• Sun rising, falling
• Moon growing, lessening
• Spring and Summer expanding, Fall and Winter contracting
• Birth living, sickness dying

Everywhere expansion and contraction. I experienced a huge contraction last week—the death of a loved one—yet after the initial days of shock and loss, my breathing did eventually become fuller, longer, and regulated. I was able to experience the colors of sunset, smell of pine in the forest, the silkiness of my cat’s fur ~ expansion and contraction. 

As I light the evening Advent Candle for love, I wonder if expansion and contraction might be attributes of this virtue? There are days our hearts might feel full, there are days (especially during the pandemic) our hearts may be closed. When we see this contraction in our small business owners, next door neighbors, the healthcare worker who is tired, the lined faces of our loved ones on ZOOM, do we have the capacity to recognize, and rather than contract alongside—breathe, expand, grow our love and be present with the magnitude? 

In the second week of Advent, I enter the cycle of expansion and contraction and explore my own capacity to love deeper, fuller and in proximity to the conditions present in our world today. When I notice contraction in myself and others, I come back to my breathing, “Hello my dear one, I see you and I am here for you.” 

As the light of Love shines forth from the Advent Wreath, a little ditty speaks:

Stay Proximate~

To truly love,  
you can’t remain at a distance—
open your heart, 
get close. 

©2020 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com