Inside the Coronavirus, I See Hope

Inside every emergency, there lives the word emerge.

Inside disease, there is dis-ease.

Inside humanity, of course there is the word human.

I am struck by these things because of what I see coming to light in this global pandemic. Inside the crisis of coronavirus, I see hope – not literally but metaphorically.

Perhaps it’s taken a disease and a disaster to help us see what’s inside. It’s not politics, or race, or religion that binds us together. It is being human. It is life itself.

I am also struck by what I see emerging in this emergency. For years, all I have heard is how busy people are. Busy, busy, busy. They are too busy for friends, too busy for family, too busy to take ten minutes a day to meditate. People were too busy, it seems, for any of the simple pleasures of life.

Well the Universe had an app for that.

Now we must take care of ourselves, so that we may care for each other.

I also notice the planet these days, since I too have more time on my hands to do things like notice the planet. The air above Denver is often brown with inverse pollution – a thick, layer of industrial smog that has nowhere to go when the winds blow it up against the Rocky Mountains.

The Universe had an app for that too. In just two weeks the skies here are crystal clear. Even the world’s busiest cities such as Beijing and Delhi are also reporting much less pollution (CNN).  

Who knew that inside us all along we had this capability, this potential to grow into something more? We just had to slow the freak down to find it.

We are in a global time-out and have the time to think about what we can do better. How can we love harder? Listen longer? How can we do all the things and still have the glorious gift of a little more time?

For me, this shift in schedule feels a lot like exhaustion. I may have been living on a cocktail of adrenaline and work-induced frenzy for years. Now required to stay inside my little nest, I’m taking naps and sleeping better than ever. I hear from many friends who also notice their fatigue, and are able to do something about it.

The other shifts for me are both huge and subtle. I’m excited about internet-based learning courses on religion and mythology. My inner Marie Kondo is having a moment organizing the house. I’m taking yoga with a lot of people online, and I’m putting my own Theme Weaver courses into a digital format.

I’m also pretty drunk by 6:00 p.m., but we can talk about that another time. What is emerging for me in this emergency is a sense that there is much more time than I ever imagined, and I don’t want to miss a minute of it.

Michelle Marchildon is the Yogi Muse. She is an award-winning writer and the author of four books on yoga. She is a warrior ambassador for Kiragrace. You can find her in Denver, Colorado, probably napping with a book, a vodka-tonic, and a little dog by her side.

If you liked this blog, check out our other blogs like: "Prayers for a Pandemic",  "As I Heal, My Ancestors Heal", "Way Out of our Comfort Zone", and " Taming Your Mind in the Face of Fear."