Coronavirus: Reconsidered

I’ll be the first to say it: the coronavirus is by far the most horrific pandemic I’ve ever seen, and I believe that many others can agree with me on this statement. The coronavirus has overcome the world by storm, and to be honest, from schools, restaurants, bars, gyms, small businesses, salons, and more closing for God only knows how long, to the significant degree of people who’ve lost their jobs, to people being held in states of quarantine, to even kids being unable to play basketball in the park, and to plenty of other consequences, it is becoming more alarming each and everyday. If you’re scared right now for whatever reason it may be, it’s okay. If you feel like you could scream at the world right now with all of your fury, it’s okay; in fact, go do that right now. Regardless, however you’re feeling is okay, and whatever that feeling may be, you shouldn’t be ashamed of it. 

That said, I know that I’m taking a risk in saying this, but hear me out: is it possible that the coronavirus pandemic is here for a vaster purpose than we think? 

If you think my question sounds naive, I completely understand. I mean, we’re in a global pandemic and as a result, the world is practically on lockdown. But, for how naive I may sound, think about it: what other cases in the world have practically transformed it into a jail cell? 

Indeed, there’s been the Swine Flu, AIDS, Sars, and so many other gruesome pandemics, but in all of these, did the world go into a state of lockdown? Moreover, we need to think about other major events in our world’s history and their degree of impact. Did the world go into a state of lockdown during the Great Depression? 9/11? The Vietnam War? The Great Recession of 2008? I mean, for all of these, the economy was impacted immensely, but did it prohibit people from unnecessary travel and cause everyone to be so afraid of each other that they don’t say “hi” to each other at the grocery store anymore? 

The answer is no. 

In my opinion, the coronavirus and its ramifications are here for a wider purpose. As humans, for as hustle and bustle as we are, we need time to stop and reflect, and unfortunately, unless the world was to go into lockdown mode, no one would’ve done that. Instead, we all just would’ve kept moving along, letting problems continue to be ignored with the hope that they’d just fade away. Maybe you’ve been having issues with a loved one, and because of how busy you are, you don’t find the time to confront it. Ask yourself, “is there something happening in my life right now that I need to fix?” Is it a relationship? Is it a job? Is it a condition? Is it anything at all? 

Also, given the circumstances of social distancing and all of the rules that come with it, I find that the coronavirus is trying to get us to see what and who are frankly important to us, instead of what and who we want to think are important and actually aren’t. I mean, are your likes on Instagram so important now that you can’t even see your family and friends who you pose with in your pictures? Is that person from math class you like so important to you as you thought after they haven’t reached out to you to see how you’re doing, and vice versa? 

This is a time for us to ask ourselves questions about our lives. Not all of the answers to these questions may be rainbows and butterflies, but in the long run, your realizations will work for you rather than against you. There’s nothing else to do, so you may as well confront whatever you need to, however easy or painful that may be, and even if there’s nothing you need to confront, use this time to recharge. After all, the amount of us who say we need a break is extraordinary, and well, fam, here it is; consider your wish granted.  Again, thinking in a deeper sense, why would the world lockdown if it wasn’t trying to tell us something? 

So, yes, I won’t argue whether or not the coronavirus is a catastrophe, but if you cannot envision a greater purpose behind it, I ask you to consider your thoughts again. 

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