A big heart means allowing ourselves to take in and be aware of suffering. It means we don't push the plight of others out of our mind. It is, in a word, compassion. With a big heart, the structure of the self takes on a certain permability -- maintaining its boundaries yet also absorbing the whole world. Big heartedness makes our planet better.
As Radhule Weininger writes: "The bigger our heart is, the more permeable the structure of our self, and the more we can think beyond our self-interest. Slowly, our world transforms into a place all of us, as people on the planet, can feel at home."
May our hearts grow bigger.
Yours in faith,
Meredith
Join a Journey Group: http://cucwp.org/journey-groups
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
The Oct 17 worship service, "A Covenantal People," is here:
See our channel for many other past services HERE.
Covid Review
The Worldwide numbers are not reliable, and likely are greatly underestimating the actual prevalence of Covid-19. These numbers may nevertheless give us an indication of trends.
New Cases
Average New Cases per Day, worldwide:
Peak week (Apr 23-29): 828,587
Lowest since peak (Jun 15-21): 360,875
Highest since the June low (Aug 24-30): 659,633
Two weeks ago (Oct 1-7): 421,319
Last week (Oct 8-14): 405,517
This week (Oct 15-21): 410,512*
*Up 1.2% from previous week.
Average New Cases per Day, US:
Peak week (Jan 5-11): 255,889
Lowest since peak: (Jun 15-21): 11,963
Highest since the June low (Aug 27 - Sep 2): 167,101
Two weeks ago (Oct 1-7): 99,557
Last week (Oct 8-14): 87,972
This week (Oct 15-21): 74,912*
*Down 55% since Sep 2 (average decline of 1.6% per day for the last 49 days).
Average New Cases per Day, Westchester County, NY:
Highest week of 2020 (Mar 23-29): 949
Lowest week, post-peak, of 2020 (Aug 19-25): 29
Highest week of 2021 (Jan 6-12): 861
Lowest week of 2021 (Jun 17-23): 11
Highest since Jun low (Aug 15-21): 212
Two weeks ago (Oct 1-7): 100
Last week (Oct 8-14): 95
This week (Oct 15-21): 77*
*Down 64% since Aug 21 (average decline of 1.7% per day for the last 61 days).
Deaths
Average Deaths per Day, worldwide:
Peak week (Jan 20-26): 14,818
Lowest since peak (Jun 29 - Jul 5): 7,694
Highest since the July low (Aug 19-25): 10,271
Two weeks ago (Oct 1-7): 7,098
Last week (Oct 8-14): 6,692
This week (Oct 15-21): 6,590
Average Deaths per Day, US:
Peak week (Jan 7-13): 3,524
Lowest since peak (Jul 1-7): 248
Highest since the July low (Sep 17-23): 1,961
Two weeks ago (Oct 1-7): 1,687
Last week (Oct 8-14): 1,493
This week (Oct 15-21): 1,469
Average Deaths per Day, Westchester County, NY:
Highest week of 2020 (Apr 9-15): 52
Lowest week, post-peak, of 2020 (Sep 27 - Oct 3): 0.0
Highest week of 2021 (Jan 28 - Feb 3): 11
Lowest week of 2021 (Jul 21-27): 0.0
Highest since the July low (Sep 10-16): 1.3
Two weeks ago (Oct 1-7): 0.9
Last week (Oct 8-14): 0.0
This week (Oct 15-21): 0.3*
*After 14 straight days without a Covid death in Westchester, there were two deaths on Oct 20.
It's concerning to see that the worldwide numbers of new cases began increasing a bit this week. Moreover, upticks in the worldwide numbers are often harbingers of upticks in the US, and in Westchester.
Nevertheless, the new cases per day in both the US and Westchester continue to drop -- for now.
The US vaccination rate continues to slowly climb. As of Oct 21, 57.6% of the US population is fully vaccinated -- up 1 percentage point in the last 14 days.
Meanwhile, the Westchester County fully-vaccinated rate is 69.7% (as of Oct 21) -- an increase of 1 percentage point in the last 13 days.
Be careful out there!
Practice of the Week
Ask Yourself These Four to Remember
Four to remember. Our brain chooses what to perceive based on the questions we ask ourselves. The four to remember are four questions that connect you with what is positive and true.
If you’re always asking, "What’s wrong with me?" – or, "What’s wrong with them?" -- you'll feel morose. Successes, gratitudes, love, and self-appreciation: those are the four to remember. So these are the questions to ask yourself about:
What small successes have I had recently?
What could I feel grateful for?
Who do I love or who loves me?
What do I appreciate about myself?
Each of these questions can be like a flashlight that helps you see past your inner darkness to the "heaven within." It only takes one or two minutes of focusing on any of these questions to change what you perceive and how you feel. Be sure to think of specific instances when you felt what the question is asking you about. They need not be big, dramatic examples -- they only need to be times that were emotionally meaningful for you.
To change how you feel, ask yourself the right questions – and the four to remember are:
What small successes have I had recently?
What could I feel grateful for?
Who do I love or who loves me?
What do I appreciate about myself?
For more details about this practice, see the post: "Ask Yourself These Four to Remember."
See also our SPIRITUAL PRACTICE DIRECTORY
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