The Greatest Lesson to Learn From This Pandemic

At this point, who doesn’t have COVID fatigue?

We were all under the impression that by now, with a vaccine, we would be closer to returning to how we were living before the pandemic. Yet with all the fighting about mask mandates, whether to get a shot or not, and these new variants that mutate to be stronger and more deadly, it feels as if we are far away from the carefree freedom that we once took for granted.

Perhaps it is all this conflict and division that’s keeping us focused on who’s on which side of what our physical liberties should be, but is this ongoing rift causing us to lose sight of what the actual big picture is here??

We’re alive!!! So, if you’re reading this…Congratulations!

We’ve made it this far with a virus that has claimed the lives of over 4.8 million people worldwide and is still going. In the U.S. COVID fatalities have now outperformed the Spanish flu so you might be surviving the deadliest viral outbreak that’s occurred in over a century!

And we’re still facing a fragile and vulnerable situation every day as we play the odds when we’re around others since contracting this virus just takes a chance encounter with an infected person and a whiff of particles.

Yet somehow it feels as if our society, as a whole, is so fixated on reclaiming some sort of social independence on each individual’s terms that we seem to be skipping over any sort of reverence for what, if any, value our mortality has.

So, instead of rushing to attend a concert or a sporting event; can you find a place of stillness to be thankful for you, your family, your friends, your loved ones who are still in good health and for each day that they continue to defy succumbing to COVID-19?

Taking in the deeper meaning of this rare scenario could be the opportunity for a great collective awakening to recognize the delicacy of our livelihood during these times.

Opening up to infusing our consciousness with gratitude helps us create a fuller, more bountiful existence by attuning our attention to some of the qualities that define our humanity…our senses combined with our ability for abstract thinking.

What if you weren’t here? What would you miss?

Considering our impermanence can help us to redefine our purpose, strengthen our relationships, find beauty in a mundane daily routine, and renew our overall outlook for how we want to live. It can give us courage, tenacity, and revive our enthusiasm.

Years from now, when we reflect on this pandemic, do we want to remember how these squabbles separated us or how it helped to unlock the potential to practice a profound ideology that in the long run allows us to connect to ourselves and others in a more heartfelt way.