Nearly all my work meetings these days begin with a quick check-in of everyone on the call to see how we are doing, hoping we are all safe and well. It is a concise way of connecting, encouraging each other that we are not alone. Then we move about the business of our meeting. We are all in this together. We are going to be OK. Everything will be OK.
We are Going to Be OK – Andrà Tutto Bene’
This past week during a global conference call, one of my colleagues from Italy shared that his children had made drawings of colorful rainbows with the phrase, Andrà tutto bene’, to post in their windows. It is a message of hope and encouragement. Andrà tutto bene’ – everything will be all right. The phrase is a mantra of solidarity for the people of Italy amid the pandemic crisis. We are all in this together. We are going to be OK.
The slogan got me thinking about another mantra from the mid-14th -15th Century that is still providing hope and courage for people suffering through difficult times.
But all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.
– Julian of Norwich
We are Going to Be OK – All Shall Be Well
Julian of Norwich grew up at a time during terrible suffering from a pandemic – the bubonic plague, also known as Black Death. Even amid this overwhelming sickness, Julian’s experience of God was goodness and love.
Her writings, The Revelations of Divine Love, are one of the spiritual classics. She was a spiritual counselor and anchoress at the Church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. She literally walled herself into a cell adjacent to the church and then provided spiritual guidance to the local community, a message of hope, courage, and resilience. Love anchored her life, her work, and her spirituality, where she guided and connected with others. All shall be well. We are going to be OK.
‘All shall be well’…
She must have said that
Sometimes through gritted teeth.
Surely she knew the moments
When fear gnaws at trust,
The future loses shape,
Gethsemane?
The courage that says
‘All shall be well.’
Doesn’t mean feeling no fear,
But facing it, trusting
God won’t let go.
‘All shall be well’
Doesn’t deny present experience,
But roots it deep
In the faithfulness of God,
Whose will and gift is life.
– Dark Moments by Ann Lewin
We are Going to Be OK – Strength and Courage
I believe in the collective human resiliency of strength and tenacity. We are all in this together. Choose to dwell in courage and not in panic or fear. Everything will be OK. Andrà tutto bene’. All shall be well.
Your Turn
What helps you live from a place of courage, strength, and resiliency?
I welcome your perspective.
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