Coronavirus Can Help You See
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” – Helen Keller
As the fog settled on the back field, the sun started to peak and so did the deer. As I laid in bed, I watched the doe outside my window. She was frozen still and I was struck by her stillness.
As I stared, I thought about her peace. The fact that she had no clue what the Coronavirus is. She doesn’t carry the burden of a mortgage or lose sleep worrying about the health of elderly parents. I was envious.
Quickly though, I realized she had just as many fears as I did, if not more. And as the seconds rolled into minutes, I remembered I had seen this frozen stance before. One doe will come out into the field, freeze, reassuring safety and then slowly the family will follow. Daily, they fear for their lives just while eating breakfast. Soon, three fawns and another doe joined to munch on their morning greens.
Living in peace, while at the same moment living with fear.
Something is happening to us during this Coronavirus.
Yes, something fearful, but maybe, hopefully, something deeper. Something peaceful.
Something worth seeing.
Of course you see the toilet paper, or lack thereof. You see the tension in people’s eyes as everyone tries to keep their distance. You see the news. You see your country and world suffer. And maybe you, like me, can see your own emotions suffering. Personally, I am shocked at the amount of comfort food I am daily cranking out of my kitchen. From fried chicken and mashed potatoes to vegetable soup, I can see my own body needing comfort.
Yet, if you look past the fear, you see that compassion and clarity follow close behind.
You see how connected we all are. You see how big little things are. And how little this big planet is.
You are laser-focused on the people in your home and the hands that you can hold.
Yet, your view expands beyond your own family to your town and the world. You see your pets and the simple gift of fresh air. You see gratitude for work that you used to complain about. You see the vacation you may miss out of and don’t care one bit as long as you have home and health. You see yourself and others running out of toilet paper, incomes, investments and health and remember how much we all need a hug right now.
Coming back to the doe, I see her frozen in stillness. She is looking, listening for safety and reassurance. So I too, will sit with my fear and do the same. I will look past first glances. I will listen deeper than that and wait for something safe to appear.
I’ll take off the American lenses that usually blind me.
The ones telling me to constantly produce, earn consume. Produce, earn, consume. I’ll see past all that and even past the Coronavirus until all I can see and hear is the reassurance of truth, living quietly within me. And somehow learn how to be like the deer; Living in peace, while at the same moment living with fear.
Love is what makes the doe brave. And even if she lost her life, her love would still remain.
Just as now, the same is true for you.
For neither death, nor fear, nor confinement, nor loss can separate you from love.
It is yours eternally. To both give and receive. Suffering will always come and go, but love is the stuff that cures and carries. It is the eternal path set before you now saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”1 Follow it and you shall see.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
Notes and Resources:
1. Isaiah 30:21
Coronavirus Fact Vs. Fiction Podcast “Pandemic Panic” with Deepak Chopra