Seems like everywhere you look today, there is reason to feel scared. Listening to the daily press conferences by our elected officials, followed by the second guessing that happens afterwards, it is easy to feel frightened and depressed. But you don’t have to project your expectation of worse things to come into this fear-full situation when the potential of good things happening is just as likely.
Why do we like to be scared?
A friend of mine shared that he was watching movies to pass his “sheltering in place” time. He had just finished viewing the movie Contagion and was genuinely scared by what he saw.
“This might open the door to “survival of the fittest” scenarios!” He complained. “The strong will vanquish the weak and they will take the supplies we stored for our families.” He then concluded. “I better get a gun!”
My response was one of confusion. I wondered why my friend would watch that movie in the first place. Reality is scary enough right now; we need not add more spices to this coronavirus concoction. We need to deal with the reality of the moment without exaggerating it with movies that studios make sensational to bring in crowds.
Another friend confessed how she was petrified by a story going around on social media. According to the story, enemies of the United States were plotting a terrorist attack on our soil. She was scared by the thought that the virus has made our country a “wounded elephant” and, therefore, susceptible to a mortal blow by our enemies.
Anything is possible, I guess, but I believe this is better left to the people dedicated to stop terrorism on our soil to work on these issues. I already have my hands full trying to keep my social distance from others.
Stories like this abound, and they mortify people susceptible to being scared. Why do they keep bringing them to the forefront? Do they just like being scared? Don’t they realize these stories lead to panic, which then leads to more terrible things?
Quantum Physics and the coronavirus
Quantum Physics says any situation can trigger an unlimited number of options. This means that a terrorist attack is possible, or that the unacceptable human behavior in the aforementioned movie could happen during this reign of the coronavirus terror. But are they likely to happen? I am convinced bad things will happen during this period if we allow fear to be our focus.
Hysterics have real negative health consequences. There is a term call the nocebo effect that applies to negative thoughts that can kill you. Some people have died just from the suggestion they had the symptoms of a feared illness even though they did not have the illness.
Choose the good
Just as the possibility exists for bad things to happen, there is a more than an equal chance that we can convert the situation into success. But we have to choose the good by letting go of what we fear.
Yes, the ominous threat of the coronavirus is scary. There are many unknowns, and that makes this harder to deal with. There is also the fearful guesswork towards the loss of people, property, businesses and savings. It will be challenging to deal with these things.
But there are also good things. This complicated predicament is teaching us to see we are all connected in this world. Borders, weapons or political beliefs can not stop the virus. We will only survive it by working together and by sharing information and resources.
There are other important lessons being taught. We now know we are dependent on something much bigger than ourselves and this should make us take stock of the existence we lead. The coronavirus is giving us the time to reassess our lives so that we can re-prioritize what we value versus what we spend our time and energy on. This pandemic is also teaching us how we lost ourselves in our busy-ness doing useless things that kept us from pursuing our dreams. Nature is a far greater force than we imagined, and maybe we should pay more attention to the signs she gives us.
The freedom we believed we had has fooled us. With no warning, we are not free to roam about. Perhaps, when this is over, we will be more appreciative of it and be more grateful for all the things the Universe/God has given us, like health, wealth and shelter. The problems that dominated our lives in the past now seem so unimportant. This is giving us a chance to concentrate on the things that will truly help create something of value. Last but not least, we know now that the world has to change and we can choose to recreate an even better one.
Conclusion
It makes good sense to take precautions suggested by experts. We must listen to and follow the advice of good and smart people, like Doctor Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Try to do the best you can with them. Social distancing is imperative, so don’t go out unnecessarily, Let your inner voice guide you in the right level of precaution.
I am doing these things, but I know not to obsess about the bad, for thinking too much about what can go wrong helps create exactly what you are trying to prevent.
Remember the Law of Attraction, you cannot expect good energy to come to you if you are emitting negative and fearful vibes. Thinking about the positive will bring like energy your way.
Perhaps I am wrong and the virus ends up killing me for having looked in the wrong place for positive outcomes. If so, then my epithet should read “He should have paid closer attention to the naysayers.” In the meantime, I will concentrate on finding the good from this situation. The more that join in this effort, the better our chances of creating what we want.
Remember, paying gratitude for your life forward will reward you with a great deal of joy and contentment.
Photo by niklas_hamann on Unsplash
