Instead of Worrying About Coronavirus, Look At It This Way

It feels like coronavirus came out of nowhere. All of a sudden things got quite serious. It was at the start of February that I first heard of the virus and didn’t think too much about it. After all, China had experienced these kinds of things before so it just seemed like another thing that they would eventually get under control. However, people across the world are now worried about coronavirus more and more as things progress.

It’s near the end of March as I write this post and most European countries are on lock-down or near it. Here in the UK, it feels like things are getting more serious every day. With each hour that passes I can’t help but check the news. I can’t help but search to see if my area has any new cases.

It feels as if I am living in limbo. I’m still going to work although it’s a much quieter office due to people self-isolating. Most of my family are already self-isolating. I feel like the last man standing. Now, the schools have closed so my partner and my son will be at home for the foreseeable future whilst I still venture out to work each day, hoping for the best. In a way, I feel like a sitting duck.

It seems quite obvious to me that most of us will get this virus at some point. However, it’s important to remember that most of us will only experience mild symptoms.

On one hand, I feel as if I should self-isolate too. On the other hand, I want to keep working until we’re told not to. Like everyone else, I want to get paid. We have lives to live, bills to pay. And that’s why all of this is so worrying for people. We don’t really know what we should be doing in the UK and in other parts of the world. We don’t know when this will end or for how long our lives will be disrupted.

Pubs, restaurants and gyms are all now closed, probably for the next few months or even a full year. I can’t help but feel like the country will be on full lock-down at some point like some of our European neighbours are right now.

We haven’t lived through anything like this. In fact, nothing has been as life-changing since WW2. It’s not surprising that people are worried about coronavirus. It’s having a huge effect on people’s lives. People are losing their jobs and their livelihoods and the virus itself can be particularly nasty. You only have to look at Italy to see how bad it could get.

Worrying About Coronavirus

I’ve spent the last few days observing those around me panicking and I can’t blame them. Those with high levels of anxiety are obviously going to find this crisis much more difficult than your average stoic Joe. With all the constant news about new cases of this virus, we’re bound to be worried about it to a higher degree. It’s as if all the other news in the world is far less important or even non-existent at this point.

However, for me, I’m not too worried at this stage. That’s because I am still trying to live by my philosophy of; “not worrying until there really is something to worry about.”

This philosophy has served me well over the years. It’s kept me from being the nervous wreck that I used to be and I would encourage you to practise the same thing. It is what I tell people that experience worry and anxiety a lot.

I’ll admit, this pandemic is abnormal which is why people are becoming so worried about coronavirus. Even so, worrying about coronavirus is another type of self-torture. It’s just another subject that can trigger a downward spiral of worrying.

You could argue that coronavirus IS something to worry about. Truth be told it can seem scary but you must not let it stop you from living your life. We are all facing the same thing together.

We are living in strange times to say the least.

“Civilizations are just clearances in the forest.”

This experience so far has shone a light on just how fragile our civilization is. It’s made me realise just how obvious it is that the planet does not belong to us. We truly are visitors on this planet and must show it respect or suffer the consequences.

We are so lucky to live the type of lives we live where so much is done for us.

The networks we have created through workplaces and supplies to stores can be toppled so easily by those who do the work all falling ill. We’re now realising that the things we value in our daily lives don’t really mean anything at all. Things like monetary gain and possessions are suddenly so unimportant when you are reduced to an animal concentrating solely on your survival.

We’re realising the life we have created for ourselves in the developed world is just a mirage, allowing us to never have to look at ourselves and truly immerse ourselves in what we actually care about.

This virus has crippled so many countries economically so easily.

In times of such uncertainty it is vital to live in today and not worry about tomorrow because, of course, we can only control today. Furthermore, it’s important to look at what we can learn from all of this. You should not let this experience worry you but instead, it should humble you. You should allow it to humble you in the sense of realising that we are not separate from the universe.

We have designed so many distractions and yet we still remain as animals with all of our flaws laid bare at any given time.

Times like these allow people to have spiritual awakenings. During WW2, communities came together to share resources and take care of each other. So far, this pandemic has seen people hoarding supplies from supermarkets for themselves, ignoring the needs of the elderly who cannot get out and get what they need.

This can only be explained by the greedy type of society we have been building since the end of WW2 as supplies gradually become more and more available until we ended up inundated with everything we could ever imagine available at our fingertips.

We take for granted the fact we can go to the store and buy whatever we need, order whatever we want from our phones at the click of a button and watch any film we want at any time. We take for granted our health services because we don’t usually need them as much as we do right now.

We have become the opposite of humble and sadly it usually takes things like this to push us back to being grateful for all of the things we have.

Instead of worrying about coronavirus, use it to practise gratitude instead. Be grateful for the easy access you have in your life and the health of your family. Use this experience to remember what is actually important to you in your life.

The weeks and months ahead are going to be difficult for many but I can’t help but think that this pandemic will act as some kind of ‘reset button’ for humanity. I hope everybody uses this crisis to focus on their loved ones and their own health and refocus their perspectives on their place in the universe.

And, more importantly, try not to worry about coronavirus. Things like this come and go. People are resilient and overcome many things when they work together.

For me, I feel a weird mixture of being humbled and fearful, but not ‘scared’ fearful, a feeling of awoken fear. I feel as if we are being reminded that we are just animals that truly need each other when push comes to shove no matter where we are on the planet or what our status is.

We’re reminded that we are all connected as a species and must be compassionate to one another for the sake of our mental health and our physical wellbeing.

Stay safe,

S