Confronting this pandemic, Coronavirus, is like the whole word is standing on a cliff, holding its breath. Alas, our perfect world has been turned upside down. One day, as we turned on the world’s weather channel, it showed there is a tornado, already here and upon us. It is as though we turned on the news and we saw the picture of this mad, out-of-control virus coming towards us, and if we did not get out of its way, we would be dead or would be badly injured.
We now understand that silence is what the world needs to glue back together its cracked body and to heal itself. The world wants to reboot itself, and we should be patient with it, knowing that it’s all temporary, like everything else in life, which is indeed temporary. The world needs us to stay still, wherever we are, so we may also heal our own soul from within. This way we will learn, once again, how to be really present in the silence of our homes and feel the magic of the moment, while hearing the birds sing and the plants grow. We need to be aware of the real meaning of everything, which had been given to us so freely and so generously, and now it’s all been taken away by the threat of this monstrous enemy, Coronavirus.
It’s like God tapped us on the shoulder, saying, “Hey, you, beautiful wind-up dolls, turning and twisting all in a circle from dawn to dusk. Stop, pay attention for now, and for a while, do differently.” During these weeks of self-isolation against Coronavirus, force of circumstance has created an empty space for trivial things — which we had learned to robotically do and take them for granted — to matter again. This serves as a reminder to count all our blessings, be grateful for all the simple things in life, and be present in whatever we do: playing with our pet; reading a book; brewing a pot of tea; listening to music; drawing a picture; writing a note; baking a cake; dancing to the music; watering our plants; tidying up our closet; talking to a friend on the phone; dreaming; smiling; wishing.
This time is an opportunity to practice exchanging love and compassion, for suddenly we realize, while countries and people are holding each other’s hand in despair, the whole world is actually just a large extended family, regardless of our differences. As written by Saadi, a Persian poet and prose writer of the medieval period:
Human beings are members of a whole
— Saadi
In creation of one essence and soul
If one member is afflicted with pain
Other members uneasy will remain
If you have no sympathy for human pain
The name of human you cannot retain