Digging deep in time of coronavirus
It was a sun-drenched day as I pedaled in isolation along rural roads near the outskirts of Seguin on my Trek road bike.
In the near distance I saw a man walking his black dog without a leash. As I approached him, the dog darted toward me at full throttle, and the owner’s futile words, “Come here,” were of no avail.
I stopped my bike facing the dog, which caused the animal to halt. I asked the man, “How about a leash?” He replied, “It’s the country.” After regaining my normal speed on the bike, I thought to myself,
Thoughts similar to these have flooded my consciousness during this uncertain time caused by the anxiety and fear our nation and world are facing due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. On a recent visit to the grocery store, I was astonished to see empty shelves where once there was a plethora of toilet paper, sanitizers, eggs, milk and other essential items.
I was amazed imagining the satirical images of hoarders loading these items in their carts with tarps and bungee cords to hold everything down. While watching the nightly news, I was flabbergasted to see the masses of young people congregating on beaches in Florida and other areas, ignoring the advice from the medical community of social distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.
Moreover, it seems like this worldwide pandemic would bring us closer together to fight this rampant disease instead of underscoring the selfishness of human nature, which some of us manifest more than others. Even though the majority of Americans and citizens across the world are maintaining their social distance and working from home in an attempt to fight this virus together, I was also surprised to learn of a fear epidemic where many were standing in long lines to purchase guns and ammunition to protect themselves.
Taking time to reflect individually and collectively on the purpose and meaning of life during this stressful time, one we have never experienced before in our lifetime, we must dig deeper within ourselves to piece together a serene sense of tranquility during the relentless rocky waves crashing in on us.
The Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, “We are waves of the same sea, leaves of the same tree, and flowers of the same garden.” These words were written on packages of protective masks sent from China to Italy. Instead of hoarding and isolating ourselves philosophically with guns and selfishness, let’s remind each other this is not the country, but our country; thus, not the world, but our world. Let the pandemic remind us to be considerate and responsible toward each other as we unite, and leash our dogs, so we can solve this problem together without fear but with a profound sense of community.