Hey, last week I wanted to write something but I couldn’t figure out what my thoughts on the coronavirus outbreak were exactly. Now that my job and fieldwork have been suspended, I’m realizing that this is all very real. It’s time to settle into a new normal.
When something large and unexpected shakes up our lives, it’s an invitation to reflect on what we can learn — about who we are and about where G-d is pointing our attention. I do believe that every person will take their own lessons from the disruptions and stresses of coronavirus and social distancing, but these are some of mine:
I’ve been joking that Hashem is telling me I need to stay home and Pesach clean, but all kidding aside, in the past few days I have thought about how I need to not only Pesach clean my house but my life. It’s like I’m being told to stay home and deal with what’s in my immediate surroundings, to take care of anything that needs to be sorted out within my belongings and with my family.
Now that attending simchas is discouraged and in some places, impossible — did I appreciate simchas enough when it was no big deal to go? Did I make an effort to attend, to be happy with others? I have two weddings coming up this week, unclear if I can go now, and just a few weeks ago I was kinda looking for an excuse to get out of them. Now all I want is for them to be taking place as usual and to be going.
The elderly are on everyone’s mind, understandably. But how much thought did I give to the population before this, to those who were already socially isolated or homebound? Will I make it a point now to remember those who could use a phone call, or a visit when it’s safer?
Most of all, what is so clear is that Hashem can upend the natural order in an instant. I was on track to earn a certain amount of money and accrue a certain number of fieldwork hours by the summer, and now all those calculations are irrelevant. As the ripple effects of quarantining and social distancing are becoming more obvious, what’s also obvious is that we can never be confident of our hold on the future. A scary thought, for sure, but with a comforting flip-side. Do we know with certainty what will happen today, tomorrow, in one month from now? No, none of use knows. Only Hashem.
Stay safe and be mindful of keeping your distance from others! Let’s each do our part to “flatten the curve“!
