We are reeling from the impact of COVID-19, confined to our homes, compelled to obey restrictive rules from a catalog of authorities.  Fear is the undercurrent of our every activity.  We are victims of circumstances beyond our control.

Where is the “opportunity” within that ominous paragraph?

I face the question just as you do.  Here is my answer as I listen with apprehension to the nightly news of the spreading scourge.

First, trace COVID-19 to its primary location within the body, the lungs.  Quickly apparent, the primary symptom that causes pain and death is difficulty breathing.

My awareness of the connection has led me to use my time ‘sheltering in place’ to become more conscious of the basic wellspring of existence, the air around me, and my conscious connection to this source of life, my breath.  (I mean it literally when I tell my anxiety-driven clients, breathe).

Being consciously aware of our breathing patterns calms us down and enables us to access the compassion and practical wisdom we possess within.

And if I am to face the frightening unknown of the pandemic that has shaken the world to its core, there is one thing I know I must do when I get out of bed in the morning, it is to stay calm. 

Taking in the breath of the new dawn is more than a physical reflex; it regulates my emotional state and preoccupation with distracting thoughts.  When I become still, I connect with a higher state of consciousness, or “spirit,” that leads to a fundamental unity with all beings, the ‘oneness’ we call love.

The Coronavirus can be the wake-up call, the alarm reminding us that we are all connected; that the borders on a map do not separate us; fame and riches do not exempt us when the symptoms turn deadly; skin color and religion are incidental when a cough leaps from one to another; and that separation between our health and the health of our planet is a fiction.

Perhaps the virus, by forcing us to stay in our homes, will remind us of how important our health, our family, and home life are and how much we may have neglected this fundamental part of our lives.

History can write about the COVID-19 as the disaster that plunged the world into chaos… or the realization of a spiritual rebirth and revitalization of our commitment to our highest good.