REFLECTIONS ON THE CORONAVIRUS – DAY 6 –
Today will be my sixth day of voluntary isolation, yet I’ve never felt more connected, more a part of the global community. People around the world are sharing the same experience. I have a friend in the Amazon who is quarantined in the jungle, friends in India who are isolating, friends in Argentina who are in lock down, just to name a few. Then there are the stories circulating from others I do not know. The virus has hit every continent except Antarctica.
We are all in this together.
Amazing to witness has been the generosity and the multitude of ways people are showing they care for one another. People are checking on the elderly, buying food for the sick, and volunteering at hospitals. Many have chosen to isolate, saying, I’m not doing this for me because I’m afraid of getting the virus, I’m doing this for the vulnerable population because I may unwittingly be a carrier. Landlords have temporarily waived rent, utilities have temporarily suspended late fees, and other companies are giving services for free for a few months. People are buying gift certificates to local restaurants and to small businesses most impacted. One of my clients with virus-like symptoms purchased a gift certificate when she had to cancel with me.
People are rising to the occasion.
The real gift is the slowing down. Business as usual has come to a screeching halt. Reports from China and Italy describe how, in just a few days of businesses being closed and roads being empty, they heard the birds singing again, they observed skies were clearer and bodies of water appeared cleaner. In Italy people left their windows open so those who live alone could hear the sounds of family around them. Suddenly social media is abound with virtual events and classes—from online ballet, yoga, and meditation classes, to virtual dances, concerts, and museum tours. Everywhere, families are spending quality time together, people are getting outside for walks, and we have space to relax, breathe, and be.
Spinal cord injury- The cases of spinal cord injury; complete and incomplete SCI. deeprootsmag.org online viagraMiracles are happening.
For me, this is the time I’ve been waiting for all my life. I understand people are getting sick, people are dying, and people are afraid, isolated, and lonely. I know there is panic buying. I recognize there are those who have been forced to close their businesses, those who have been laid off, and those on the frontline who are working around the clock. I get this is not an easy time. This is a time of disruption. This disruption offers us a pause. In that pause lies a rare opportunity.
This is our moment.
What is the learning? The biggest lesson, for me, is this. We are not in control. Even those who have money, power, or status cannot control anything in the outer world. Yet, we do have choice. We all can choose our response. We can decide how to perceive any given situation, and how we perceive it will dictate how we feel and react. Do we respond from fear or love?
We are not in control.
Yes, we’re being asked to isolate and to slow down. We’re being invited to take a break from our busy lives and just be. We’re being given a rare opportunity to dive deep. We can take this opportunity to relate more intimately to those closest to us, more profoundly to our local community and the global community, more honestly to ourselves, more responsibly to our earth, and more authentically to Spirit. We can take this as an invitation to ask ourselves the hard questions. We can take this time to reflect on the answers, to discover who we truly are, and to figure out what it is we want to create for our lives.
This is the great reset.
