Will You Help Me?

I looked on as we jammed parking lots and cleared off the shelves of ‘life essentials’ from supermarkets this week. We call it getting prepared for an invisible enemy that has sent fear if not outright panic through to the bones of many.

The question my conscious kept asking: Will I share what I have purchased with my neighbor if they come down with the Coronavirus? Or is all this just for me? The other deeper question is how do we take care of each other psychologically and emotionally during this situation?

The Public Health system works on the basis that we are all in this together. Yes! Evergreen is a community and we are all in this together. What is good in health practice for me is good health practice for you also. We all benefit! Transmission of a virus between us is limited by the limitation of interaction between us. We are asked to create and maintain an isolation from each other to slow down – even defeat this enemy. This makes sense from the Public Health perspective to control the spread of a virus.

But on a social level, as a community, how are we to respond to the isolation we are creating?

Are Seniors living alone more distanced from the community now? Are they to be without conversation or in sight of another person to ‘defeat the enemy?’ Are Families struggling to make ends meet now determinatively left alone to fall into a psychological depression, fear and panic because they can’t join the rush to the supermarket? Are our minds to be filled with fear for our own health, real or unreal to be panicked and filled with anxiety over something we cannot control?

We all need emotional and spiritual support in a time of crisis whether we have a lot or a little.

What do we need to support each other in the community when we are in isolation from each other? Do we need an old fashioned phone tree to simply ask: “How are you doing? Or…..

Reflect on what we can do to strengthen emotional and spiritual ties during a time when we are so tempted to think only of our closest and to lose sight of ourselves.

For those with a spiritual depth I include the following prayer. And for those who may feel a prayer is ‘over the top’ in the social realm, perhaps you could read it as a moment of reflection or meditation on our place in the universe. After a Yoga session would be a great time to read it.

“God, our peace and our strength, we pray for our nation and the world as we face new uncertainties around coronavirus. Protect the most vulnerable among us, especially all who are currently sick or in isolation. Grant wisdom, patience, and clarity to health care workers, especially as their work caring for others puts them at great risk. Guide us as we consider how best to prepare and respond in our families, congregations, workplaces, and communities. Give us courage to face these days not with fear but with compassion, concern, and acts of service, trusting that you abide with us always.” Amen.