Just yesterday I participated in a Zoom Conference on Resilience and I was reminded of the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, who wrote a book by the same title. He took the title to describe his stress reduction and resiliency program at U. Mass Hospitals. His program teaches people to embrace their pain as a means to create resiliency in their lives. The title comes from the movie or book Zorba the Greek.
It’s a story about an English Literature Professor who inherits a Bauxite Mine in Crete. As the professor waits at the Athens port to catch a boat to Crete, he meets Zorba. Zorba is a “roustabout” and cons the professor into hiring him to run the mine. As they sail over to Crete and get to know each other, the Professor asks Zorba: are you married? Zorba’s answer is: “Am I not a man, I have the wife, the kids, the house, the full catastrophe.”
Upon arriving in Crete, Zorba takes over running the mine and it becomes one disaster after another. Zorba’s response, quite to the consternation of the Professor, is to dance and celebrate their misfortune. The very last line of the film is: “Zorba will you teach me how to dance?” He is essentially saying, will you teach me how to embrace life with all of its twists and turns.
The challenge with the COVID-19 Virus is to embrace life with all of its twists, turns, uncertainty and “live in the moment.” For me this is a challenge, especially when I allow my fears to take over. When I overlook or forget that the past and future don’t really exist except in my mind and understand that it’s only the current moment that really exists. If I can only realize that when I’m in the moment I’m just fine. The more I get out of myself and connect with you, my family, my friends and colleagues, the more secure I will be. I encourage you to live in the moment, embrace life, trust your higher power and reach out and connect with your family, friends and colleagues. Remember we are all in this together.
Upon arriving in Crete, Zorba takes over running the mine and it becomes one disaster after another. Zorba’s response, quite to the consternation of the Professor, is to dance and celebrate their misfortune. The very last line of the film is: “Zorba will you teach me how to dance?” He is essentially saying, will you teach me how to embrace life with all of its twists and turns.
The challenge with the COVID-19 Virus is to embrace life with all of its twists, turns, uncertainty and “live in the moment.” For me this is a challenge, especially when I allow my fears to take over. When I overlook or forget that the past and future don’t really exist except in my mind and understand that it’s only the current moment that really exists. If I can only realize that when I’m in the moment I’m just fine. The more I get out of myself and connect with you, my family, my friends and colleagues, the more secure I will be. I encourage you to live in the moment, embrace life, trust your higher power and reach out and connect with your family, friends and colleagues. Remember we are all in this together.
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