Since God Created The Pandemic

Since God Created the Pandemic…

(and Everything Else)

As we weather the storm of Covid-19 and face many unknowns we might pause to ask: “If God is in charge, and life is a classroom, then what are we supposed to learn from this pandemic which applies to life without a pandemic?”

We would like to hear your answers. Please comment BELOW.

Spiritually-oriented Reflections

We spoke with a practitioner of Yogic philosophy who is steeped in meditation and communion with God. She offered the following answers. Maybe some will ring true for you as well.

• We are not being punished for wrong-doing. We are being given time to get our priorities straight.
• Life is an invitation to expand awareness. It’s important to acknowledge: Who is the source of life itself? When we honor that “source” we become happier and wiser.
• Each one of us is responsible for ourselves. Be kind to yourself…and be disciplined at the same time.
• How each person manages themselves will impact the wellbeing of others. (Think: social distancing, self-quarantine, hand-washing, etc)

Let's Remember

• We are a global community. How governments manage to contain the virus will impact the people of other countries. We need to watch out for each other regardless of race, color of skin, culture or religion.
• We can choose to care for ourselves and others and create a culture of compassion.
• Sharing information openly and transparently will be a service to others—even life-saving. Distorting the truth that comes from reputable scientists can hurt people, even cost them their lives. Anxiety escalates and fantasies flourish in the absence of good information.
• There is no magic pill that can remove this nightmare and return everything (health, economy, etc) to “normal”…It is up to us to create peace within ourselves and within the world.
• We have been given the time and quiet to ask: What do we really want for a world culture? What are we willing to do to create that world culture?
• Communion with God (whatever name you give our Creator) through meditation can bring peace, inspiration, and joy.
• Gratitude and service to others is at the heart of feeling good.

Tweet from Barack Obama

@BarackObama, father, husband, past president, citizen

“We owe a profound debt of gratitude to all our health professionals and everybody who’ll be on the front lines of this pandemic for a long while. They’re giving everything. May we all model our own behavior on their selflessness and sacrifice as we help each other through this.”

Spiritually-oriented Practical Advice

• A psychologist, Lerner says, “Stay connected to friends, neighbors, your adult children, anyone who matters to you. Especially those who induce a sense of calm rather than chaos. People need to hear your voice — and vice versa.”

There is lots of evidence that spiritual practices help soften anxiety and depression, diminish pain and reactivity, and promote peacefulness. Sister Marie Elena Romero, a Capuchin Franciscan nun, offers practical advice on how to manage your days with an ample dose of spiritual practices:

• Time can be used for self-reflection, to ask oneself whether you've wronged others and to seek forgiveness, to examine fears or to make a plan of how to help someone else who might be struggling – even if it's just through a phone call.
• If you are facing boredom in confinement: make a schedule for your day. Include rest, prayer or meditation, as well as work and/or chores.
• Strengthen family bonds and teamwork: Families can cook and clean up together, have a longer time to interact and check in, then play cards or board games, take part in physical activity by walking together, watch a movie or read.
• A family or a person can use the time to learn a new skill, including making crafts, call a friend or contact a person who might be lonely or family members they haven't contacted in a while, or assess whether they can be of help to the community and plan how to do that.

As the Day Turns to Night

• As the day heads into its last part, pray, giving thanks to God for the day that has passed, asking for a good night's rest.
• Carve out quiet time before bed, listen to music, or pray or meditate, whatever it takes to get yourself out of the anxiety caused in a time of uncertainty. Take yourself mentally out of the focus on Covid-19, especially if it's causing anxiety.
• Light a candle and meditate. This is a great time to ask for forgiveness, to look inside the self and cleanse the soul. Here is the time you need but didn’t have before.
• This is your opportunity to learn specific prayers which you were too busy to learn before.
• This can be a time for blessings. But you have to take advantage of it, to see the good side of it, and then it can be a blessed time, a time to ask for mercy, to give thanks, to think about others, to reflect.
• If nothing else, just ask God for mercy. In the Christian world it's Lent, we're in a time of reflection. Ask God for those things that only the Divine can provide us.

Do you have practical advice to share? Please COMMENT BELOW.

If you liked this article, check out these online courses at IMHU:

• Nurturing Resilience in Kids and Teens
• Best Meditations for Wellbeing
• The New Psychiatry: Moving Beyond Psychiatric Medication

And be sure to check out our full roster of courses at IMHU