A Pandemic of Possibility
We are living in an odd and unprecedented time right now. It’s a time when all of the schedules we have known, the social interactions we have loved, the excursions we have enjoyed, the habits we have established, and the outings we have cherished have all been temporarily canceled. Our workplaces, for once, actually do not want us coming into the office, and the children and pets that always pry for our attention when we are just coming home from work now get to see us 24/7. Gyms are closed, malls are closed, and movie theaters are closed.
The stock market has crashed, an immense number of people have lost their jobs, and many more are physically suffering, some even dying, from the current pandemic. There is no doubt that talk of this unprecedented time will grace the pages of history books hundreds of years from now, noting the atrocities and disturbances that one cannot escape in this current climate.
However, amidst any darkness, there is always an equal amount of light. Just as the psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Dr. Viktor Frankl, once said…
“Certainly nobody of us is spared suffering at one time or another, but everybody, in the midst of suffering, is given a chance to bear testimony to the human potential at its best, which is to turn a personal tragedy into a human triumph...Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
So, it seems that at this very moment in history, each and every one of us has the chance to turn this current climate into a “pandemic of possibility”, a chance to rise above our suffering and find meaning in the chaos. We can choose to submit to fear and panic, to surrender to the anxiety of uncertainty, or we can rise above it, learn all we can from our current circumstances, and vow that we will indeed be better versions of ourselves when all of this is said and done. We have all been given a chance to slow down, go inwards, re-evaluate our lives, and recalibrate in any ways necessary. Now is your chance. How will you best make use of it?
Journaling Prompts (highly recommended):
What are a few positive changes you have recently witnessed in the world as a result of this global pause, be it social, professional, environmental, or other (ex. families spending time with each other, global pollution decreasing, etc.)?
What do you most miss about “normal life” and in what ways can you ensure you will no longer take those activities for granted?
Viktor Frankl once said, “The more one forgets himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.” In what ways can you better serve the world or others after we return to “normal life”?
How are you feeling right now? If this feeling is undesirable, how can you best move through and past this emotion to one that is more pleasant? Other than relying on external changes (such as “the pandemic ending”), what are a few changes you can personally make in your own life to feel better right here right now?
Name 10 people, things, places, activities, or other that you are currently grateful for. Relish in every single one of them, and try not to let that feeling of gratitude go. Gratitude is a powerful healer.