Tag: pandemic

Driving in the Midwest During a Pandemic

Covid has transformed all of our lives.  My little family is fortunate to have our health and choices.  Our mode and location of travel is not what we had planned, but we took baby steps in these crazy times.  The most fundamental difference was that we were unable to make deep connections and get to know people due to social distancing.  As such, for me our travel this fall has only highlighted my own and society’s social dysfunction.

While Kenny and I are more introverted by nature, Ricardo is a social butterfly.  He thrives on social interaction and he has had the greatest difficulty with social isolation.  He looks at the world with curiosity and the idealism of a child.  I feel that social distancing has allowed me to revert to my default behavior, observing others from the outside.  Travel was supposed to challenge me to ask people questions, get to know them, their cultures and locations more intimately.  I wanted to be less inhibited and more curious like my son.

In 2020, however, the tension is palpable.  Is it mine or other’s that I feel?  As a healthcare provider I feel a responsibility to protect others because we have been traveling around the country, potentially spreading Covid.  We have been wearing masks and avoiding crowded, indoor places, washing hands to protect ourselves and others.  I evaluate the pandemic from a purely scientific perspective and believe in the medical oathe: “first do no harm”.  Yet it is my respect and concern for others that sometimes triggers disdain and comments from those who, for whatever reason, chose to disregard Covid as a risk. 

The diversity in this country should make us stronger, not divided.  We should all be more curious,  having more conversations about the things that make us uncomfortable and seem incomprehensible to understand each other’s point of view.  Instead I hid behind my mask and observed as others hid behind theirs.  I understand the science behind the necessity of a mask, but I believe the masks and social distancing have also widened the division in this country as we become more isolated,  narrow minded and defensive.  I recognize that on this trip I missed an opportunity to educate myself and understand my neighbors.  I cannot change the past,  but in the future I will make the effort to step outside my comfort zone and ask more questions for my own edification.  I may not change someone else’s opinions, but I may gain some insight to their opinions and pain.  We all desire and deserve to be heard and seen for who we are.  It doesn’t have to be an argument or a debate. Maybe it’s not even necessary to volunteer my own opinion. That will likely be the hardest part. Perhaps if people feel heard they will be willing to listen and ask their own questions. Isn’t that how a conversation starts? What can you do to narrow or bridge the divide? How can we begin healing this fractured country and see each other again?

Pandemic pause…. and possibilities

I feel as if some greater power decided it was time to put the world on pause. If we as a society were not going to slow down and see the world for what it was, some external force decided it was time to make us do some reflecting. I have decided not to waste the opportunity that this gift of living through a pandemic has given me. I am profoundly aware of the luxury that my education, health and financial security afford me and yet eludes many. I owe myself and everyone my honest reflection, education and action to make positive changes moving forward.

As a healthcare provider I promote physical distancing as essential in protecting our collective health. But as a student of yoga, I believe we should be embracing those near and far within our hearts especially at this time. We are all part of one global society and the pandemic exemplifies how intertwined we really are. When one suffers we all lose, and conversely society benefits from each small act of kindness, even a simple mask. My hope is that we continue to evaluate the world we live in without judgement or hate, but objectively to improve race and gender relations, economic and educational disparity, global warming and our environment for all of its inhabitants. While physical distancing is necessary for the pandemic moment, distancing ourselves from our neighbors is short sighted and unsustainable in the long run.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu is a Sanskrit mantra which means: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may my thoughts, words, and actions contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom for all.” 

Imagine if we all just paused now and then to evaluate our own thoughts, words and actions what a movement we could create and what transformation would result.

Our differences are opportunities to learn and grow together,  just as genetic variation ultimately selects the strongest traits to move life forward in an ever changing world.