Splendor of Beauty refracted through COVID-19 death: 19 days of Omer 5780, Hod ShebeTiferet
Today was nineteen days, which was two weeks and five days of the Omer in the year 5780. הוד שבתפארת, Hod ShebeTiferet, Splendor of Beauty.
Meditating into Beauty While People Die
An incredibly beautiful soul gave up her fight with COVID-19 today. Rana Zoe Mungin, 30, was ignored twice before finally being admitted to a hospital. So it took three attempts to receive medical care for this brilliant Black woman to be seen. And then it took the full force of the Wellesley alumnae network to get her experimental treatment to have any sort of chance at survival. But it was too late. The racism she encountered in her fight against this virus took her life.
Read Rana Zoe Mungin’s description of her life on the Wellesley Underground, an alternative Wellesley alumnae blog. Her sister, Mia Mungin, tweeted Rana Zoe’s fight for her life. Mimi Maciel, her best friend, posted a tribute to Zoe.
Nothing tells you more about my privilege in this pandemic than the fact that I can share this story with you, take several deep breaths, and talk about anything else.
Hod: creating a place to meet the Divine
In my imagination, the Divine Mother is not waiting for immaculate living rooms and sparkling bathrooms. She is praying for us to use our eyes to truly see the souls who surround us. The people whom we do not treat as fully human. The animals whom we treat as if they solely exist for our benefit. The earth we are shattering to gather more oil, not even stopping when we cause earthquakes far from the edges of tectonic plates.
Splendor of Beauty: Deep Resilience Honoring the Spark of the Divine within Everything
True art sparkles with the spark of the Divine.
Deep love nourishes our recognition of the Divine.
The truth of being truly seen showers us with Divine energy.
Eternity reminds us that She exists beyond and within all that exists.
Discipline gives us the eyes to see the patterns of the Divine flowing through all.
May we honor El Shaddai, embrace the Shekhinah, and always remember the importance and worthiness of each living being.
Rest in power, Rana Zoe Mungin.
Other thoughts on Hod ShebeTiferet
5779 / 2019: The splendor of beautiful prayer envelops me.