Fear has been ever increasing, causing inflammation on the planet and in its inhabitants. We can see this in global warming (which is very real, for those still living with "their heads in the sand"), increasing natural disasters and now our current state of affairs; which is sadly creating a great deal of mass hysteria and panic.
It is fair to say that our collective reaction to the disease is way worse than the disease itself. To stipulate further, it has brought out more of what is already in us. Much like an orange that can only produce orange juice when you squeeze it, the building pressure we as a society have placed on ourselves has amplified our narcissism tenfold; oozing out entitlement, neurosis, anger, despair, self-righteousness, racism, separatism and my personal favorite, covert ethnocentrism (racism's prettier and more sociably acceptable cousin...though much more damaging).
I'll give a brief example. I've been a little "under the weather" this past week (thankfully recovering; it's NOT the coronavirus, just to clarify) and aware that the virus originally started out in China. Being Asian and being sick may not be a great combination for someone living in a predominantly white middle class/working class neighborhood in the suburbs right now. To that point, going to Walmart proved interesting last week. I tried very hard to not talk or cough, moving briskly yet calmly to get all my items on my list.
I could feel the stares and the "Parting of the Red Sea" as I came through the aisles. Now, it may be given that I was just a sick individual that people didn't want to be in contact with. However, the blatant looks and the vibe was too hard to ignore. No, not everyone was like that but the point is very clear. I even managed to almost make it to my car without coughing. I was a couple feet from the door when I had to let it out. When I was done, I looked up and there was a white lady in her pickup truck glaring at me with a disapproving mouth gesture. Would she have done the same thing if I was, say, white? Possibly, though I'm willing to "bet the farm" that if she had, it wouldn't be to that degree of disgust.
Returning to the orange analogy, unlike an orange, we can change what's on the inside of ourselves. We can choose. It won't be easy, though I know it is certainly well worth working on. We have and can create damage. Is the opposite true? Of course it is.
So in that example, what did I end up doing? I first forgave the lady and all those that exhibited adverse behavior towards me. Second, I forgave myself for attracting that situation to me. Taking responsibility for my vibrational match to something like that is the only thing that I have 100% control over, given what happened. Am I a saint? Far from it! I'm working on this as part of my life journey to be better. And when I fall from grace, which happens more often than I'm willing to admit, I encourage myself and keep up the good work. After all, why not? Maybe good things will come my way as a result. You know what? Much of it already has. For that, I am grateful.
