The world as we know it has suddenly come to a screeching halt due to COVID-19. Going to the grocery store has become a project. Ordinary is no longer ordinary in April of 2020. Going anywhere now takes planning, what time do I go? Which store will have what I need? Will I find what I need on the shelf? If I don’t find what I need how many stores will I have to visit to find these necessities? Do I wear a mask to the store? What about gloves? How much do I expose myself to other people while I’m out? What happens when I bring my groceries home do, I quarantine them too and for how long? What do I use to clean the groceries before I actually bring them in? They say soap and water is the best, but I cannot wash a box with soap and water. I guess I could use an antibacterial wipe, but we don’t have many of those and soon we will have none. There are none in stock because out of fear people are hoarding these items. “According to scientists the virus is detectable for up to three hours in aerosols, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.” I guess I either have to find a way to clean those objects or leave the groceries or Boxes in the garage. Wow this is really time consuming and exhausting. I am really tired already just thinking about this project of shopping for necessities I think I will sit down and go another day.
What once was ordinary, simple automatic and habitual, is now forcing me to be extremely mindful in my care for self, family and others. For me it seems like I am developing a neurosis, fears about how dangerous it is to go into the world.
I have always been very aware of the reality of our human fragility as I am not a stranger to illness and loss. I lost a kidney at 40 to cancer and I lost my 30-year-old son two years ago to addiction. But somehow in the here and now of this Coronavirus/COVID-19 things seem to be even more fragile. I had to remind myself about my belief in our fragility and impermanence. I know that anything can be lost at any time, but I find the need to remind myself of this more often. The reality of the world we live in is, anything could happen to anyone of us without notice. Impermanence has always been there it began when we drew our first breath and it ends in this lifetime at the time of our last breath. The human body is vulnerable, and we are susceptible to all unseen and seen enemies. We are never sure when this will happen. Since we don’t know when something might attack our bodies be it disease or natural disaster it is important to live each day as if it were our last day here on earth. That means remembering to be grateful for what we have and letting anyone we are close to in our lives know how much we love and care for them. Life is fragile and we need to appreciate and be grateful for whatever time we have here together.
Sometimes we delude ourselves by thinking we are invincible. We are all somehow safe from natural disasters, viruses, disease and even death. I think unconsciously we believe “I’m safe and it’s not going to happen to me all I need to do is stay safe in my own little refuge.” Unfortunately, the body has needs like food, water, air and of course connection with other beings. So, believing that we can do it alone and that each one of us is in some sort of protective bubble of, it won’t happen to me, is delusional. The definition of delusion, is a belief that despite the evidence to the contrary we hold onto. The delusion, “it is not going to happen to me” is beginning to hit each and every one of us. We are seeing it and hearing about it in living color every day on the television, our computers and our phones, it is impossible do deny the potency of this virus. The statistics and numbers rise daily as we all witness it growing and getting closer to our neighborhoods. There are many examples of this in our everyday lives besides this coronavirus, to name a few, “it’s not going to happen to me,” I can drink alcohol and consume drugs and not get addicted. I can continue to play tennis during the Coronavirus because we have at least 6 feet of distance, it won’t happen to me. I can still go to see my family and spend time with friends no one will know that I am not practicing social distancing. I can still walk on the beach as long as I don’t get too close to others. I can spend spring break in Cancun, Daytona Beach and Malibu because I'll be okay. I can still surf because after all it is just me out there and we are far enough away from each other. My question to all of you out there that have decided not to follow the rules is, “How do you know?” It is not our democratic right to have the freedom to do what we want when we want to do it if it places ourselves and other beings in danger. No one has a crystal ball or the inside track to God? You have no knowledge of what safe is and it is irresponsible to all beings to not follow the rules that the government and the physicians have advised us is in our best interest. In the here and now it is not just about doing, “What I want.” In the here and now it is about what is in the best interest of all beings. Sometimes we ourselves are the enemy. Making poor choices in spite of the facts.
The fact is that we are not safe from unseen and seen enemies the body is vulnerable to all assaults. We are not invincible, and even Superman was vulnerable to the enemy kryptonite. We have many enemies in our world as previously mentioned. Disease, viruses, bacterial infections, natural disasters, pollution, and violent assaults by others. To think that we can shelter ourselves from all seen and unseen dangers in the world is absolutely delusional. So why not do what we can to simply do our best for ourselves and humanity. May we all be kind, compassionate and mindful of all our brothers and sisters.
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