The Gift of Practicing Social Responsibility with Social Distancing

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together” ~ Desmond Tutu

Oh, my friends! Who would have ever believed we’d be in the middle of a pandemic? I can’t even imagine in my worst nightmares what it was like to live before our current advancements in medicine. To live during the Spanish Influenza Pandemic or the Black Death of the 14^th century? Horrifying and completely impossible to protect oneself against. Even diseases such as measles, smallpox and polio caused major devastation before vaccinations were developed. So, to keep a positive outlook, I’m grateful to be living during a time of powerful technology and medical ingenuity plus the technology to share information almost instantaneously!

Yes, social distancing is frustrating, inconvenient, and boring. And unless your national or local government has called for it, it’s not mandatory. Regardless, it does call for each and every citizen to practice self-control, patience and deprivation of our usual way of life. It’s also the most effective tool in our arsenal to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Hmmm…in the big picture this is a considerably smaller, more reasonable sacrifice which in all practicality is a simple effort that can possibly protect tens of thousands of people. It helps lesson the burden on our leaders and first responders trying to contain a wildfire blazing around the world. We’ve already seen evidence of its potential destruction via reputable sources such as the Center For Disease Control (CDC). Currently there are 8 states that have locked down over 80 million residents on stay-at-home orders.

Sorry to work the Pollyanna angle here (Pollyanna is an endearing movie popular from 1960 starring Haley Mills), but I can’t stifle my eternal optimist as I see and feel the secondary benefits of social distancing. We’re living in the 21^st century at a break-neck pace. Non-stop moving and shaking and it’s so easy for our quality of life, what really matters, to become a blur. Details lost and replaced by a general “feeling” of how life is going for us.

Social distancing for me has meant more family time. With the fewer obligations and distractions of work, clubs, sports, and even friends, my family has brought back our focus to a basic value of love and support and hope. Yes the kids are still connecting to their friends on social media, my son, the gaming king is still enjoying social time on his online games, parents are checking in on loved ones in between news updates but surprisingly, without being able to come and go so mindlessly, we are finding more opportunities to connect and see each other!

It’s inconvenient and can be extremely boring when we’re so out of touch with activities that don’t require travel outside the house or entertainment in our social circles. The social distancing suggestion is a proactive health initiative to slow down the spread of the virus so that our health system is capable of keeping up with the number of infected patients. This is a human condition, pleading to our sense of social responsibility so let’s dig deep and make the most of a situation that in actuality requires the least amount of effort from each individual that’s not on the front line battling this virus.

It may be overly cautious and, in the end, may turn out to be deemed extreme, but my point is that social distancing is a very small price being asked to pay by the common people. We are part of one world living as separate individuals, yet we can come together as separate individuals and collectively make a world of difference by flattening the curve of contagion.

Enjoy slowing down. Enjoy your family and let’s be grateful for all the people working tirelessly to protect millions of people.

Blessings for continued good health.

Keep it Simple,
Just Teri

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