3 Things COVID-19 Can Teach Us About Ourselves
NEWS PEG
This week’s news peg goes without saying - as of Monday, April7, over a million people tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States, according to the New York Times.
More than 57,000 deaths were recorded according to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The numbers continue to rise across the globe, and it wasn’t surprising to find out that the World Health Organization called the disease a pandemic.
It certainly has become a time for everyone to stay safe, quarantined, and travel less. It is a weird and scary time.
But in the havoc of it all, COVID-19 has taught us at least three things about ourselves…
Lesson 1: Health Is Wealth
Yes, it is cliched. But, it is cliched for a reason - because it’s true.
Running in the city, chasing after our passions and dreams, and climbing the ladders of success, it becomes easy and common to forget about our well-being and health. Though the virus comes from the consumption of a particular animal, the spread has much to do with the lack of care in all branches, from the government down to the individual and his or her choices.
But, with the CDC’s alerts and warnings on how to stay safe, from washing one’s hands thoroughly to staying home to avoiding shaking hands, these small day to day habits matter more than ever.
Lesson 2: We Don’t Control Nature
It has become natural for us, living in the capitalistic, industrialized, digitized, and commercialized world to start believing in the dominance of the human race. It is a subtle ego that appears, and has grown over the course of history.
“Ecological humility is constant awareness that the self is inseparable from the web of relations that supports it...the Earth, and therefore the interaction should be done with the sacred awareness of what effect it has on our interdependence,” said Jennifer Cole Wright in her book, “Humility: The Virtues.”
Though Wright wasn’t referring directly to a pandemic and its effects, her words make sense when we realize that the number of people living near nature has been decreasing, according to a Columbia University study.
We realize that when we are closer with nature, we are not only humbler but also are attuned with its play.
The pandemic has shown us, once again, that nature and its unpredictability can bring us on our knees at will. Just like climate change, hurricanes, and earthquakes, humans are being taught that no matter how far we go in the worlds of technology, business, space exploration, and the arts, the fact of the matter is - we are under the control of nature. And thus, respecting nature’s species, resources, climate, and health is our responsibility.
Lesson 3: We Can Be With Ourselves
Quarantining ourselves inside our homes and limiting interaction with others in order to stop the spread of the virus have forced us to stay with ourselves.
In being with oneself, the individual learns to be introspective. It provides the opportunity to meditate, think productively, and care about things beyond our careers and social relationships.
Paul Tillich, the existentialist philosopher, famously said, “Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone, and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.”
It is true - humans are social animals. We, innately, are driven to interact with each other. But it is also true that in the world of constant consumption and advancing in our respective careers, we lose the introverted nature of life. We lose the ability to listen and sit.
Only 8% of Americans, according to the National Center of Complementary and Integrated Health, meditate on a consistent basis.
Whether it be meditation, a passion, music, yoga, an art, or reading a book, being quarantined can switch from being a saddening time of loneliness, to an opportunity for solitude, peace, and growth.
In the midst of the hurdles and warnings that COVID-19 has thrown at us all, there is always room for internal growth and introspection. There isn’t a better time.