I am personally in a vulnerable category, or rather two of them. At the moment my body is busy fighting off Lyme Disease, a battle I've been fighting for over a year now, and my immune system is already over taxed from that effort. I am also someone with what I call weak lungs, I have asthma, and all my colds and illnesses attack my lungs and linger there far longer than other people's trifling colds. All this makes me genuinely nervous about my ability to recover should I get Covid-19. So, I stay home, limit my contact with the outside world and sanitize everything. But sometimes I still stay up at night wondering about the future.
So, I've had to ban myself from reading news outside of occasionally checking on California's new measures to prevent spread and a few updates. I can't read anything about the state of doctors, hospitals or anything else pertaining to our current health crisis at night or I won't sleep.
And I've had to implement this one very simple and seemingly effective rule. Every time I see something that makes me worry I have to hunt down something about those people who are trying to help their fellow man through this crisis. I can't prevent my inboxes from filling up with upsetting articles and news from concerned friends. But I can deliberately hunt down information that restores my hope.
Mister Rogers, apparently learned from his mother to "look for the helpers" in every crisis. If you haven't seen the new movie with Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers you should. It's a perfect message for such days as these with darkness pouring into our world and everyone hiding indoors. Whenever things get rough and scary, anywhere there are bad things happening, in the middle of the darkness, there you will find the helpers. The doctors and nurses rushing in to help everyone even though they are exposing themselves.
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| Check out this article in the HuffPost for more on Mr. Rogers. |
He advised talking about facts, not letting a child's imagination conjure up even scarier realities. And that's a good message for those who descend into a news world designed to build hype and scare people into reading further and further with less and less information and facts. Media often thrives on hype and emotion and facts fade away. Don't let that become a part of your experience of this crisis. We are stuck at home in some ways feeling very helpless in the face of a global pandemic. While we are not all children, the feelings of helplessness and fear are universal and can be combated in much the same way you would soothe a child. The difference being that you are soothing yourself, your own inner child. Don't watch sensationalized news. Remind yourself of the facts. Tell yourself how you and all your family and neighbors are working to keep each other safe. All look for those people who are helping in the crisis. Focus on the hope and find ways to be a helper yourself.
Because the helpers can come in any form. The helper can and should be you. You may not be a doctor or nurse. You may not be able to help in any way that you think is meaningful, but you can always do something. The researchers at William and Mary pooled all their PPE and sent it to local hospitals to help keep doctors and nurses safe. My mom is busily sewing fabric face masks that she'll drop on a neighbor's porch to use at the food bank. The local food bank is overwhelmed with people who need their help, but the volunteers don't have any masks or gloves to use while they work handing out food to the public.
Two ladies who volunteer at the Old Poway Park (now closed for safety of the community) have sent round an email to all the other volunteers saying that if anyone needs help, or knows of anyone who does, they can contact the Poway Neighborhood Emergency Corps. These two and a team of others from the community are willing to pick up groceries and run to the pharmacy for anyone who cannot, or does not wish to go out and get exposed.
And even if you can do none of those things, sharing your beauty and art with the world is enough. The tenor Maurizio Marchini, quarantined in Firenze sang Nessun Dorma from his balcony. And even if he can do nothing else, the fact that he shared his gorgeous voice and this song with the people who cared to listen it was enough. All over Italy people are trying to bring joy to one another through little things.
The world is actually full of helpers. And it is important to know the upsetting facts about the dangers we face so that we can respond appropriately by understanding what to do to keep everyone safe. Learning about senior hours at the local grocery store and telling your elderly loved ones about it. But as you look up the articles warning of danger also temper that understanding with hope. Look for the helpers. Find the hope in the darkness, where people rush in despite risks to their personal safety, where people try to bring each other joy during these hard times.
Find one good thing for every hard one you face. If you worry about the death toll, cling to the numbers of those who have survived. If you worry about the elderly, cling to the hope of the 101 year old Italian man who survived Corona. If you are worried about the safety of your community, remind yourself that everywhere people are trying to help neighbors by staying home to limit infection, by making masks from scraps of fabric in the attic, and getting groceries and medicine for those who cannot risk going out.
Find how you can help make the world better.
Don't give in to the fear and panic. Find a way to help someone else through it all. Be one of the helpers who gives in the fight against the global pandemic. Maybe you can share you gifts from your balcony or through the internet. Maybe staying home is your act of helping.
Join us, and stand with us, as we do all do the one little thing we can to be kind, to be strong, and to survive.
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