The level of anxiety in my world is exhausting. I love my work, but this is hard. Trying to be a light in desperate times takes a fortitude I’m not sure I possess. Yet, this is the reason I started the ‘Coeurageous’ blog, long before Covid 19. The raised sense of anxiety started on 9/11, 2001, but is now skyrocketing with the pandemic. People have lost their direction. They don’t know who to believe or what to do to be safe. How can we possibly learn to live with this risk all around us?
Over the past 18 months during my sister’s cancer journey, I have learned one thing quite well. There is no absolutely safe place in the universe except in the arms of Jesus. Every time we walk out our front door and get in our car, we take a risk. In 2019, 38,800 people died in automobile accidents in the US. Over that same period in our country, approximately 600,000 people died of cancer and 800,000 of heart attacks and strokes.
Now I know the constant negative news about Covid 19 has overshadowed these statistics. We cannot and should not ignore the numbers. As I’m writing this post, over 165,000 people in our country have lost their lives to the virus. It’s worrisome that the number of new infections is rising in many places. However, there is a bright spot within all the pessimism. The death rate is decreasing from improved treatment regimens.
Even though not as many people are dying from the infection, the pandemic is far from being over. Until we have an effective vaccine given to at least 70% of the population, we will see more deaths. Fear of the unknown grips us. Will I contract this disease or one of my family members? Will I die?
Perspective is important. In every generation throughout history, the world has dealt with impending disasters: plague, influenza, earth quakes, tornadoes, world wars, etc. Near the end of the 1940’s, CS Lewis wrote about the fear of inevitable doom due to the atomic bomb. People built bomb shelters and children hid under their desks in bomb drills preparing for a nuclear holocaust.
If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things-praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts-not huddled like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that), but they need not dominate our minds.
C S Lewis, “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948)
Indeed, fear of the virus dominates our minds. But it doesn’t have to consume us. We must make a decision to learn to live with the risk of the virus in our midst; not let it keep us from living remarkable lives. We are a resilient people who have overcome tremendous obstacles in the past. With a little common sense and creativity, I have confidence we will triumph once more. But we must stay the course and not lose hope.
Absolutely, wash your hands, stay out of crowds and wear a mask. From what we have learned so far, this is the right thing to do. But find a way to live safely. Get outside in the sunshine and walk with a friend. Play games with your children. Have a conversation with your neighbor across your fence. Socialize with appropriate distancing, yet still socialize. We need human interaction for our mental wellbeing.
Life is full of risk. This always has been the case. Perhaps now with the present pandemic, we’re more aware of our own mortality and it’s shaken our resolve. Lean on Jesus for strength and courage. Remember…fear is a powerful motivator for action. However, when overwhelming it can result in total paralysis. Courage in spite of circumstances is a choice.
Coeurageous is moved by the heart to live and act fearlessly.
