Has COVID-19 Changed Who We Are?

Many people are trying to go about life as though they are not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They want to carry on with life as though they are wearing shields of armor keeping their heads above the coronavirus and business as usual. We have others that think this pandemic is fake news and it is all a sham. "It's simply the flu," they say while we have health care professionals (RN's that I know) trying to save lives and dying in the meantime. And yet there are others that are fear-struck, hoarding materials such as surgical and N95 masks and toilet paper, as though they are the only one's that want to survive this COVD-19 pandemic and save their families.

Keeping a schedule is important to keep our sanity. I definitely get that. However, I really believe that we need to stop and think about what is going on. Going on as usual is simply a way to keep ourselves in denial. Perhaps, what we need to do is to wake up and recognize what is happening within ourselves and our world and ask ourselves why. Do we need to start thinking differently and more deeply to lead a more meaningful and socially responsible life.

On my Instagram feed, I see several fitness influencers continue to advertise their tight derrieres and abdominals so that they can continue promoting their products for others to purchase. I get that 50% of the population in Canada and the USA are now unemployed (if not more) and we all are looking for sources of income in a somewhat panicked mode. However, what was working for us before this COVID-19 pandemic will not be working for us during and after this pandemic. Are tight derrieres and abs a priority right now when there is a pandemic going on and people are in survival mode? Is having 3 or 4, 30-pack toilet paper roll packages okay when your neighbor has one single roll left. Answering these questions confirms that we are self-absorbed and leading life and business from a self-centered model.

I believe in God or a higher source and when something this significant happens, I also believe that it didn't happen for us to 'continue life as usual.' Over the years, I've watched American governments strip health care systems from money and resources vitally needed to equally care for our population. As well, our health care system has been running at full capacity before this pandemic started. If you voted for the right, you looked for a strong economy and jobs which then usually depleted the left; the health care system. If you voted for the left, you looked for money to be funneled into the health care system and community resources. Now we are in a predicament, aren't we, without both. Perhaps this should tell us a little about the right and the left and how important both are needed for us to function effectively.

I've always wondered why politics had to be either right or left, and why couldn't it be both, somehow. Why couldn't we restructure the social system and the economy to suit all of our needs? Why so much opposition?

To be socially responsible, we need to consider the basic needs for human life - food and water, shelter, and rest. When we have our basic needs met, we can then move up the ladder and begin to thrive without stealing, cheating, or lying. Right now the government of Canada is giving subsidies of $500 a month for renters. Sure, that's great, but you're asking people that have been laid off to stay home so that they do not spread the coronavirus. Asking them to stay home may happen for a short term until food runs out, but then what happens after that? Here is Vancouver, BC, rent is high. I'm simply waiting for the vandals to begin downtown. I see many shops boarding up their windows and doors. That won't keep people out when many are trying to survive and the government is requesting ludicrous things. Good is not good enough anymore as it was, perhaps, in the past! Neither is a health care system that lacks funding and beds and other resources to keep nurses functioning to their full capacity and helping the sick. I studied the attrition rate of nurses in my masters program. Just wait for an increase in attrition rates after the pandemic. You don't want to sufficiently look after our nurses, well they won't be risking their lives to look after you when you get sick either. Right now, they are mandated to do the work. With the increase in baby boomers coming into the system, let's see how many more leave the system with the decisions that are being made right now with this pandemic.  

No matter how we look at it, we will never agree, so we should simply agree to disagree. However, we all have two priorities in life: our health and income to get our basic needs met. When we have these two needs, we can look beyond survival and be productive in our search for better solutions. We can move beyond our self-absorbed and self-centered model and think community or think of the world as a whole.    

Be safe. Be well. You are loved.

Let's Connect!

Go to DesireeLeigh.com to pick up your FREE eBook of the 7 easy to apply Life-Changing Steps to increase confidence, build better relationships, and achieve your dreams.