Wuhan, China, South Korea, Italy, Europe, the United States – Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Cleveland, Warren in Trumbull County, Youngstown. That is a great distance to travel. Yet we are in a shared predicament. We are connected, bound together across great distance, in an attempt to delay a new strain of virus from wreaking havoc on our people.
There has already been lots of havoc. I’m now having trouble finding toilet paper, and I’ve given up on trying to buy hand sanitizer. There has been a recommendation to stockpile food and supplies for the next two weeks, but I can’t help but think of those who struggle to live day to day. I am aware of the great shift that has happened in a matter of a few days: children are home from school, churches are closing in person gatherings (and we dislike doing that), even the NBA, and other sports franchises are postponing their season. It is common now to read the sign: Cancelled or postponed or temporarily unavailable.
2020 has been a roller coaster of a year. After great fear of entering a potential war with Iran, a heated Democratic primary that is leaving many worried and dissatisfied, the concerned state of our environment, and now this. It is during times like this, that I remind myself of something I find great power in and that comforts me when I’m stressed and feel like I’m losing control, and I feel panic creeping in. I remind myself of a simple truth: that I may not be able to control completely what happens to me, but I do have some power over how I choose to respond. I want to be very clear about this power. It is not the power to override our emotions. It is not a mechanical power that will magically quell our anxiety. It is not a power to overcome our humanity and the feelings that go with being human. It’s a choice of what to do with our feelings. It’s a choice of what to do with our humanity.
Given this power of choice, we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. It is a life saving opportunity. It is a life giving opportunity. For some of us, it may be the first time we get a taste of what our life is really about.
It is a unique time. The Center of Disease Control and our statewide Ohio Health Director have introduced this term which now will become part of our common speech: social distancing. This term means exactly what it implies: keeping a distance from socializing with other humans in close proximity. It is a temporary measure to delay the spread of this virus through community transmission, and allow our hospitals a chance to care for the most medically vulnerable so they will not be turned away due to overwhelm of patients. It is a temporary measure, and in a way goes against our nature. Most of us in varying degrees are fed by being with one another. We are fed by hearing each other’s laughter, we are fed by touch: giving each other a hug, being close with those we love and have come to depend on. We are asked to do something which is not natural to many of us. It is certainly not natural to me.
This is a tricky time because we are being asked to be diligent in a very specific way by not gathering together, not touching, and not do all the things which we have come to do in order to feel comforted and not alone. The tricky part of this is we know from disease experts that this act of social distancing will not cure or put an end to this virus. It will only delay it to get the most vulnerable among us the care that they need. It is estimated by our Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton that approximately 60% of the population of Ohio will contract this virus, and have variable symptoms, sometimes no symptoms. This means that it is possible that over half of us will come in contact with this. This doesn’t need to be something we should fear. It is something to be aware of. It is tricky to practice diligent social distancing while holding the perspective that contracting this virus is likely for many of us. We do not need to be scared of encountering this virus but we are being asked to be cautious so that the spread doesn’t overwhelm our population at such a rate that people can’t get the care they need. Delaying the inevitable, or flattening the curve as some call it, is not in itself a very compelling vision these next 3-4 weeks, in my opinion. Delaying the inevitable is not a compelling enough vision to endure the hardships we are experiencing: stress on work, stress on family, stress on worrying about each other.
We need something more than this in order to get through these next weeks with our humanity intact. As some of you know, we are in the period of Lent in the Christian calendar. Lent is a time of giving up something we are accustomed to, something that gives us comfort but is not truly necessary, in order to discover something truly life saving, something wise. I couldn’t think of a more opportune time for this virus to arrive. In many of the Eastern Christian churches they cover up statues and icons that typically give people comfort and strength, so that they might develop a wider and deeper understanding of comfort and strength. By circumstance, I am also requiring that of you, and so is our collective culture. It was a very difficult decision to close in person gatherings, because I know for many of you, this kind of gathering feeds your spirit and gives you the strength and vision to face your week. It was difficult to decide to temporarily not offer that comfort and strength which has been consistently offered for 125 years.
But a few days later, I see it differently. It is important to care for the most vulnerable among us, and give people the care they need to sustain life. But more that, I understand there is also another spiritual component to this. We are being asked to feel our connection to each other and our neighbor in a radically different way. We are being denied our usual way of relating and finding meaning and comfort. In denying ourselves something we’ve come to rely on for the greater good, I think we are discovering a wider and deeper vision of community. We are learning that we are connected closely to those we never see, those we never meet, those we never touch. We are learning that our actions have an impact that is global, and that is true for every single action, not just this virus. This has powerful implications. This means when you smile, it is not just for yourself or those who see your face who feel that warmth – it is the whole world. When you take a walk and appreciate the coming of Spring, it is not just you that is nourished and uplifted, it is the entire globe that is nourished and uplifted. When you take a bite of food and feel grateful for your life, the world too comes to feel grateful for its aliveness.
That is an incredibly powerful thing, and that is within our power. Maybe social distancing is teaching us something valuable. We don’t need to physically see or touch each other in order to care and provide inspiration for each other. In fact, that care and inspiration may even be felt more strongly given the distance. It is a fact that you are loved and never truly alone. Social distance does not change that fact, it deepens it. It has the power to show us nuances that we often miss, and to show us just how deep and wide this connection goes. The whole world is right there with us in every moment, as we drink our coffee, as we walk quietly in Springtime, as we smile to a co-worker who is anxious. We have the opportunity of discovering a kind of community that is not limited by physical proximity, of who we can see and who we can touch. A simple act of kindness even to ourselves in this difficult time goes far beyond ourselves. It spans the globe all across Youngstown, all the way to Warren in Trumbull County, Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, across the United States, Italy, South Korea, and Wuhan, China.
