Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus

The postitives and the negatives.

By Linda PaulPublished 3 years ago • 4 min read

I have been alive for 65 years, and I have never seen the world in such a tumbled heap. But, then I remember the stories my mother and father used to tell me about the great depression. They lived through several wars, and watched the world change from a horse and buggy lamp lit civilization to a technologically advanced arena in a hundred short years.

In my lifetime alone I have witnessed social change, the onset of the worldwide web, and the advanced treatment, understanding, and even cures for diseases that had been a death sentence to my parent’s generation. I was crushed into the crowd of many a hot and stifled protest against war, racism, and other sins of society among my flower child counterparts. We were angry, self righteous, and determined to bring about a much needed change to our world. And, I suppose we did. People were killed for their beliefs, or their color, or their sexual orientation. But, the differences we made were somewhat transcient and certainly many of them weren’t as long lasting as we wished they might have been.

This world has been through plagues, world wide wars, poverty, and the alienation and in some cases mass deaths of people who did nothing more than dispense a few herbs, or were born into certain races who were in disfavor with a more powerful race. Look at the Inquisition, the concentration camps, and the treatment of the Native American people. Humankind is no stranger to hardship, hypocrisy, or mass extermination. Perhaps we should have learned a lot more than we did from our past.

Flash forward to this period of time. We are in the grip of a pandemic, racism had raised its ugly head once again, and we are looking at worldwide suspicion and protest against governments that have refused to change along with the times. The difference this time is that we can communicate our thoughts, ideas and protests through our fingertips via the internet. So now, instead of seeing isolated pockets of unrest or the need to change, we are grouping together as a world. Maybe because of this vast network of hearts and minds, we are and will continue to bring about social change, acceptance, understanding and a healing of the earth and all of it’s beings in a way that we could never do before. Let’s hope that this is the case.

From my vantage point I have witnessed this pandemic from both the negative and positive aspects. I am lucky that I have been able to stay at home and to be in a comfortable financial situation. I know that many people haven’t had that luxury and my heart goes out to those who have endured this horrible virus or have lost people close to them to its grip. And of course, that negative aspect totally casts a very heavy cloud over the positive aspects that can also be witnessed through the narrow lens of fear, heartache, frustration and social unrest. However, there are a few positive aspects to be witnessed.

When the world of humankind shut down, the natural world healed in a way that it otherwise could not. Rivers ran clearer, wildlife flourished, smog disappeared and we all began to appreciate and cooperate with the rhythms of nature. We began to walk and run and to teach our children to quietly observe and respect the flora and fauna that surrounds them.

We were given the opportunity to spend more time with our families, take a huge part in the education of our children and to learn to recognize our part in keeping each other safe and sound. We watched as the world held hands and wept together at the wave of despair and destruction that Corona left in its wake. We learned about unity. We learned that all of our lives matter no matter what gender we are, what color our skin is or what beliefs we may encompass. And, sadly we learned that Corona attacks all of us regardless of the above.

I am proud of our world for standing up against this viral worldwide enemy. We have worked together, cried together, and been angry together. We helped each other in ways we would never have thought of prior to Corona. We cheered when lives were saved and comforted those who had lost loved ones. Like the Who’s in Whoville we sang our anthem of love and harmony worldwide when we were faced with what seemed to be the ultimate disaster. We’ve got this and let’s hope we remember the good of this as well as the bad.

And, because it is almost Christmas in my neck of the woods.. I leave you with the wisdom of Dr. Suess.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Fah who foraze! Dah who doraze!

Welcome Christmas, come this way!