One thing you learn when you move to a developing country is that disaster is never really very far away. Many of us who live in wealthy countries have never learned this lesson deep in our bones. Even after this pandemic subsides, we will try to go back to our mindsets of invincibility and inevitability of progress. And perhaps that is not a bad thing. Perhaps that is our minds' defense mechanisms. After all, if you really thought hard about everything that could go wrong every day, you would never get in a car.
But for those who live on the knife's edge of poverty (both in poor and rich countries); for those whose health conditions force them to walk every day through the Valley of the Shadow of Death; for those who serve both these vulnerable groups and so many others--for those who live with the omnipresent threat of utter catastrophe--this new pandemic is an additional burden, yes. But it is not a novel thing for them to fear death or disaster. Listening to these people's words online and in person steadies and sobers me.
I'm not dissing those of us who are globally rich and/or physically healthy, by the way. I have no interest in the Pain Olympics. The fear and isolation you may already feel are natural and valid. And so is the fact that we humans are capable of more than we remember.
In the difficult months to come, please remember that. Dig deeply into your sources of comfort and strength. Steady yourself with the words and music and works of art made by those who also lived through terrible times. Check in with your loved ones and friends.
I'd like to end with the words that are helping me steady my own heart as I look at the news and encounter new disruptions. They are from a Christian perspective, but I hope that they can provide universal comfort.
"Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid."
-Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words
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