Tag Archives: SARS-CoV-2

Staying at Home

This has been such a massive shift in the way we live.  I personally am not having that much challenge staying at home.  I have been doing most of my work from home for some time.  What has changed  is the face to face meetings I have with my directees.  But thank God for technology.  I have been able to meet with everyone online.  Now, I am a hugger and that is a big piece of how I care for others.  Virtual hugs are okay but nothing like human touch.  I am so glad that I am sheltering in place with my family.  I pray daily for those who are alone. I contact those I know, just to check in.  I would highly recommend that if you know anyone who lives alone call them or send a note.  Something to let them know they are really not alone.  As this stay to home order goes on, it will become harder.  Even though temporary, loneliness can lead to depression and even despair.  The term “stir crazy” is going around a lot.  I have one acquaintance who was feeling the effects after 2 days  TWO days.  This morning I asked my husband , “Is it really Friday?”   Time seems to be flying by for me.

I have been very busy.  I am working and playing and praying.  The fear creeps in but I’m accepting it and finding ways to use that energy.  I am cooking more, trying to be somewhat creative there so as not to be going out to the store too often.  I started writing my blog again, so that’s good I suppose.  I’m painting, singing, dancing (seriously, I find myself dancing – maybe it is because I watched “Chicago”), and having conversations with family and friends.  It has really been a rich time.  I have the luxury of being able to continue to work and have income so I am donating a bit more to those agencies that care for the poor.  I am particularly concerned about those who are living on the edge.  Unable to live on what they have and so vulnerable in times like this, they need assistance and with social distancing it will be hard to deliver what they need. We will figure out something to help them but it is challenging.  Pray for all those trying to maintain assistance programs.  Where one door closes, God opens another or a window.

I am not in New York so the worst is yet to come. I just read that there is a poll saying that 9 in 10 persons in the US are heeding the social distancing recommendations.  If this is true then that is better than I thought.  We may actually be able to make a difference and lessen the severity of this pandemic.

May the God of Abraham hold you in this time of uncertainty and help you to see the positive – the ways in which we  humans are able to care for one another.  Help us to be the hands and voice of the divine to offer comfort and support to those around us and all over the world through the means available to us. As we stay at home to protect those who must be out, open our hearts to new ways to serve. AMEN

Fear

I am staying at home. I can do my work from home and my kids are very concerned for me. Of course I love them for it but it does remind me that I am at an increased risk.

I just found out someone I know has CoVid -19. She’s gotten through the worst and is recovering but as scary as this pandemic is, finding out that it is that close is, well, making it personal.
I was in a webinar with some of our experienced colleagues in Spiritual Direction. One of them was dealing with the disease and spoke freely about the fear. So we talked about how to help our directees deal with the fear. I thought, yes, this is the challenge I face. I am scared for myself, my family, all those away from me and most especially for those without the resources I have. I bring all of this into my sessions with my own clients. I don’t want this state to be my way of being. So I pray. But I am needing to pray more to stay present. To help others deal with this fear, I must deal with it myself..
We must realize that fear is normal and truly a gift from God designed to keep us safe. So we must welcome this fear, name it, allow ourselves to feel it and talk to God about it. It is in this time of prayer where we can give the fear over to God, accept that we are not alone in it and use that energy to move us forward. It helps to say it out loud, too.  Talking to someone else can be a release as well.
Just breathing helps. I usually breathe in the Spirit and breathe out what I don’t want. Fear, anxiety, worry, that feeling of helplessness, the knowledge that I don’t have any control. This relaxes you, grounds you, and reminds you that God is present. It makes a difference and you can make choices that are born out of being loved rather than personal angst.
The truth is that fear makes sense in these times but in God there is hope and a way of looking at the world that allows you to use that energy to be part of the positive – be kind, reach out (by phone or letter or social media!) to others. Give a donation to help keep those in need fed, sheltered etc. Breathe and talk to God. Then let fear move you to action.

SARS-CoV-2

What a crazy time!  Who would have thought?  This is a wakeup call.  We were unprepared for this and so blindsided by it that many of us didn’t take it seriously.  Now we are paying for that lack of respect for a highly contagious, new, unknown virus that has spread throughout the world in less that 3 months time.  This is shocking and we in the United States are trying to wrap our heads around how something like this could happen.  It spread across all of the United States, 49 states in just a few weeks.

I think the fact that things happened so fast is the most dizzying.  We were going along in our usual way, complaining about the government, going out, spending money, watching a healthy economy weather some challenges, just living our daily lives.  Then coronavirus.  The world as we know it has come grinding to a halt.  The market crashed, gatherings were banned, events canceled. We are being confined in the hopes of lessening the burden on those who will offer healing.  As we watch the scenario unfold in other places we know it is just a matter of time for us.  But we are fighting.  We are making it harder for the virus to mass infect.  And we have some tools to do that.  How many times have we heard “wash your hands”, “don’t touch your face with unwashed hands”, stay away from crowds, don’t form crowds, stay home unless you have to go out, work from home?   It is coming.  It is serious.  It is real. But we can slow it down so it can be manageable.

I am happy that I don’t have to go out.  I feel for those who have to work outside their safe haven.  But I am grateful to them for doing their jobs.  The least I can do is listen and take precautions so that they are not unnecessarily overwhelmed.  Each of us can make a difference by taking this seriously and trying to be part of the solution and not the problem.  I am staying home until I have to be out for something vital – like an important doctors appointment or to get groceries. But I will try to go out at a time when others won’t be out. Keeping the suggested distance from people, yes, washing my hands.

I find myself checking the map of the virus a couple of times a day.  It is surreal watching the numbers climb.  It now seems incredulous that anyone thought it could be contained.  But they tried.  Kudos to them.  And now we must do our part.

I am a religious person.  I find great comfort in knowing that I have a God who cares.  When I start to panic, I go there.  I seek the steadfast love of my God who helps me through tough times.  I am grateful for my faith.  I know this virus is like countless others, part of our world.  Most are relatively harmless, some like this are more virulent, and deadly.  So this, too, is a part of the human condition.  We have been blessed with minds and a creativity that allows us to deal with the situation.  We search for and find ways to combat these illnesses.  We are also blessed with a sense of community that says we must care for one another and that means doing what is right not just for ourselves but recognizing the repercussions of our actions.

Even with the divisions that have grown in our country.  We are coming together as one nation to confront and deal with this threat.  We need to learn from this trial and grow a sense of family. Maybe this will remind us that we are a nation of people who have come from all over the world but are Americans.  I am thinking that other countries are thinking the same thing.  That is when national pride is helpful.  We also realize that this is a global problem and that it is bringing us together as humankind.  If even for a short time we think about that we might find that we can coexist and be kind to one another. We can see the humanity in each of us all over the world.  Perhaps this will change the way we think about our fellow humans.   I HOPE.