in the shelter of each other

 

“Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine,

In the shelter of each other the people live

In the shadow of each other the people live

 

“We can do beautiful things and terrible things to ourselves and those we consider to be ‘our others’

                               Padraig O’ Tuama

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we live in each other’s shadows

our lives touch each other

 

if we have learned nothing else from these times

of Covid-19 and societal unrest

this time of protest

and this time of sheltering and protecting

or not

 

we live in each other’s shadows

 

it is interesting that the word scáth can mean both

shelter and shadow

it has been suggested it comes from a Norse word for “mist”

 

it is of course possible to shelter in the shadows on a hot day

when the sun is too bright

 

and we “shelter” in the shadow when we want to hide

 

so shadow can be shelter

 

or it can be that place of darkness, over being overshadowed

smothered, overwhelmed

 

to live in another’s shadow is to be diminished

 

but however we parse this phrase, it speaks of

connection

of overlapping circles

it reminds us that, for good or for ill

 we have a sphere of influence

 

who I am, how I am, how I speak, and behave

the energy, the “vibes” I send forth into the world

touches those around me

 

I cast a shadow, and so do you

 

That meme we post

Those words we write

The remarks we made

The choice we make to wear a mask, or not

To hold a social event, or not

 

Those things create our shadow

And define whether our shadow is a shelter

Or something else

 

We can do beautiful things for one another

Or we can do terrible things to one another

 

But we are not just shelters

(thank God)

We are sheltered

 

not only by one another

but by a love, and power, that shelters us all

 

in the words of the Psalmists

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. (121)

 

 

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty… God will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;   (91)

 

 

God is a sheltering God

and perhaps it is the raw truth

that we are sheltered, protected, loved

above all loved

 

that allows us, as we walk through each day

and touch lives along the way

to be a shelter

 

“Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine,

In the shelter of each other the people live

 

In the shelter of each other may the people live