Since shortly after the Coronavirus (Covid-19) hit, many of us have been wondering about what contribution we can personally make to help us all get through the devastation and death we’re experiencing on so many levels. Many, if not most, have felt that their personal lives and life itself has become increasingly confusing and chaotic in recent times--and that was before Covid-19 arrived! Now we find ourselves immersed in a global scenario the likes of which we’ve never known much less imagined.
How do we navigate the surrounding emotional morass of fear, grief, anxiety, greed, anger and loneliness and not get swallowed up by it? (There’s a saying for this…”When you’re up to your ass in alligators it’s hard to remember you came to drain the swamp.”) How fitting! And how do we keep the powerful twin monsters of helplessness and hopelessness--to say nothing of the physical and economic implications that are swirling just beneath the surface--at bay?
“Me? Make a difference?” We say, “I’m just trying to stay alive! Besides, I can’t fix this!”
Then again, maybe you (and I) can.
Thankfully, in the midst of the pain, fear and daily sacrifice, we are being inundated with examples of hope, compassion and integrity. With each passing day we are being increasingly inspired by the initiative, resolve and creativity of people all around us--sometimes at great personal cost. If we step back from all this we see that the two; the current storm of suffering and the abundance of inspiring responses to it, beg one question: Where can you and I make a difference...right here right now...right where we are? Or a better question: While we’re “sheltering in place” how can we “make a difference in place?”
Long ago and far away a teacher of mine made a statement that literally stopped me in my tracks. He said, “Make sure you always take time to think about how you think.” Think about how you think?! It was a novel enough idea, but how does one actually do that? Can our brains really double back on themselves? It’s certainly not a practice in which many of us are formally trained. Nor is it one that comes naturally to us. But, hearing my teacher’s sage counsel, I was glad I showed up for class that day. It was one of those “when the student is ready the teacher will appear” moments. Ever since then I’ve carried his advice with me, tucked away like a handkerchief in the back pocket of my brain.
Now’s a time to pull it back out. Why? Because we’re living in an incredibly unique, if ominous, moment of history in which we need to do our very best and most creative thinking. Each of us! It’s not just the doctors, scientists and medical professionals and not just to our government officials, corporate entities or rich philanthropists to whom we are tempted to turn for a cure or vaccine or relief who will resolve this dilemma. This moment in history is calling--if not begging--for the best in all of us!
These three things we know: We can’t go back. We can’t stay where we are. We must go forward--and we must do so even though we have less confidence we know what that “forward” will be like than at any previous point in our lifetimes. How do we proceed?
Let’s begin by thinking about how we think. While doing so let's ask ourselves a few questions like; Why do I really think this way about this subject, situation, person, etc.? Do I really believe this--can I truthfully say I own it--or am I just mimicking someone else’s thinking for them? Does this kind of thinking promote the health and wellbeing of people outside of my little tribe? What if suddenly I couldn’t think this way, what alternative would I choose? Who do I know that inspires me to do my very best thinking? Who needs me to do my very best thinking? And finally, now that I’m sheltered in place, how can I do my best thinking to make a difference in place?
“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Romans 12:2)
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