What does this mean for us?

I decided to write a more existential article relating to our current experiences with the Coronavirus after living under these conditions for a few months and reading the multiple articles that have been produced.

Much of this pandemic is playing out as others in the past in which there is fear which leads to a scarcity of resources and acting out against one another and eventually once safety begins to come back into view, we begin to settle back into our normal lives and see how the experience may have changed the world we live in. The part that seems to be changing with time is our understanding of our role as a species in the origin and spread of these pandemics. From a scientific perspective, it totally makes sense that the more humans develop, the more opportunity there are for areas of nature to mix that may not have mixed before which allows for diseases to develop and for illnesses to spread at rates not previously possible.

What would someone do with the knowledge that he or she is directly or indirectly causing harm?

As a therapist, these types of questions are not so far off from our work. Although many people are currently wearing masks during their daily life, what if this looked more like hurting your loved ones emotionally instead of someone dying? The likelihood of action definitely becomes a little spottier there. In my office, this is something I see every day. The constant struggle to choose “we” over “me” is not an easy one but oftentimes it’s the answer to getting us that love from our partner that we wanted and even that self-love at times by showing ourselves that we are a loveable person.

I’m a big believer in finding the value in situations like the one we are in now and see how you can benefit. What better thing to work on while quarantined than personal relationships? Try to become aware of how much you may invalidate others and instead try to boost them up, think of others (including animals and Mother Earth!) before yourself at times, spend actual quality time where you feel like you are getting to know that person better, become open to something you may not have been before, and so many more!

Now that you know some things, what can you do?