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Mothers' Day

Writer's picture: CroneCrone

The dog and I walked on a footpath through a field of sheep and lambs. Sheep with lambs in tow either ran or stamped feet at us. Most of the mothers separated from their babies bleated and sought to regain the connection. Some ewes carried on grazing while their lambs ran, baa-ing piteously, from ewe to ewe trying to find their safety.


I saw the farmer and his family coming toward me. We stood the requisite distance apart and said our hellos. I said, 'Some of the mothers are better than others.' He nodded and replied, 'Just like women.'


Mothers now will be in very close proximity to their children now for weeks to come. In France, apparently, you can only take one child out at a time. Which presents logistical issues for single parents with multiple children.


For those studying for exams, the exams may be deferred - but the studying presumably must go on. I will I hope be able to help a friend's daughter with her Eng. Lit. studies. Othello and Jane Eyre and love poetry.


My mother died 25 years ago. I miss her. I'm glad she doesn't have to face this - though she lived through the Second World War. Six years of bombings and scarcity. They got through it.


But they got through it together. This crisis seems somehow apt for an age of atomisation and individualism, of technology superceding personal connections. We sit ensconced in our boxes with our screens. The mind can be harsh company. The untrained mind even more so. It is like carrying with us our own personal Room 101. Remember 1984?


'“You asked me once,” said O'Brien, “What was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world…'


In light of this, Sam Harris spoke on his Making Sense app today about the importance of training the mind in times of emergency. A mother's anxiety is so easily transmitted to a child. Our emotions are more contagious even than this virus. Of course we will feel bursts of fear, but meditation can help make the half-life of that fear far shorter.


Harris's Waking Up app is a subscriber service. But if you need it and can't afford it, send an email to the helpdesk and they are inclined to grant you access. It's his policy - that people should not be barred from benefiting by financial restraints.


I could do with a subscription holiday, frankly - but I won't stop using the app.

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maplekey4
Mar 22, 2020

Your dog must be enjoying himself. Glad you both are getting out to the countryside. I've noted what you said about the impt of training the mind when things get really tough. "Of course we will fear bursts of fear, but meditation can help make the half-life of that fear far shorter." I like how you express that. I've recently started listening to Sam Harris's app again. And I did indeed take advantage of the free subscription. Thanks for the post.

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