#17: A Life Well-Lived in the Time of Coronavirus

Photo by Edwin Hooper on Unsplash

Dearest Reader,

Watching this pandemic play out, one witnesses humanity at its worst:

• Toilet paper appears to be the new bitcoin with grocery stores limiting purchases.  There are video clips of people hoarding, inciting fistfights in the aisles.
• Long lines snake through gun store parking lots. Citizens, believing society as we know it may be imploding and humans’ worst tendencies will prevail, are arming themselves.
• Young people are converging on beaches, selfishly thinking restrictions do not apply to them.   After all, statistics show their age group not severely impacted.   Their good times mean this outbreak will rage longer, putting more in danger.
• Some are changing the name Coronavirus to the China or Wuhan Virus, needing a scapegoat.  As a result, there are new racial tensions in a time when we need to be working together.
• Conspiracy theories abound regarding the origin of this pandemic, adding to the paranoia and panic.

 
With the world going rogue, we still get to decide who we want to be in this new reality.  I choose being a good human, and many others are doing the same:

• There are urgent messages from the Red Cross regarding a blood shortage.  I checked the site, and next week’s donation calendar for my area is booked four days out.  I have never seen this before.
• Millions are social distancing, washing their hands, and doing their part to get through this challenging time.   
• Rather than political stuff, many are posting toilet paper shortage memes, new skill instructional videos, ideas for managing quarantine, tours of world museums, free concerts, and funny messages about homeschooling challenges.
• South Korea appears to have had success in managing the pandemic.  They are sharing their strategies with our country, so we might also arrive on the other side of this nightmare.
• Residents are buying groceries or running errands for their elderly or vulnerable neighbors.
• Some are buying gift cards from restaurants providing mini loans to keep businesses and their employees afloat.
• Tip jars at takeaway spots are overflowing.
• The pandemic hit Italy especially hard and Italians congregate on their balconies singing songs and reminding each other they will get through this.
• Exhausted medical personal in pandemic hotspots are working tirelessly to help their patients with minimal supplies.
• Citizens, worried about medical personal without PPE, are creating designs, obtaining materials, building grassroots workforces, and manufacturing it themselves.
• Travel companies are finding the tricky balance of maintaining customer satisfaction, taking care of their employees, and keeping businesses viable.  Celestyl Cruises in Greece is giving a travel voucher for 120% of the purchased cruise price valid until December 2021.  The original amount will be automatically refunded if the voucher remains unused.
• Infected, Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson put faces on the virus, making us not feel so alone.

We are truly “in this together” and get to choose how we want to handle it. Being a good human is and will always be part of a Life Well-Lived.
 
Love,
M.J.