Responses

Response: any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus.

What do our responses to this pandemic and our staying at home to lessen its impact tell us about ourselves? 

Honestly,  I believe we tend to have an initial knee-jerk reaction that is more related to self-interest than the altruistic.

The most natural thing is to be initially fearful of this new virus and its health and economic effects upon us. We are going to first think of ourselves and our family. 

Staying at home when our rhythms and identity come from going places, interacting with people, and doing things is a huge adjustment.

Please don’t feel weird or selfish for having these normal feelings.

But remember these are biological fight or flight reactions. We can move on to a more appropriate response.

We can move on from fear by taking the recommended precautions and getting on with life without being consumed by this thing.

We can move on from thinking just about ourselves to checking on others who may not be faring as well as we are. 

We can move on from the boredom of being homebound to focusing on the new opportunities to do things and focus on relationships in a way that normal times didn’t permit.

We can move on from the stress we feel to realizing that our true character is being revealed because that’s what stress does; it reveals character. That helps us to see where we can improve.

Take a deep breath. 

There are good things that can come from this!

  • Fearful<Careful
  • Number One<Everyone
  • Boredom<Opportunity
  • Stress<Character

Image: “ASAMBLEA NACIONAL MEDIDAS PREVENTIVAS POR CORONA VIRUS EN ECUADOR. QUITO, 12 DE MARZO 2020” by Asamblea Nacional del Ecuador is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 

About Glenn

Glenn Hager is a blogger, former newspaper columnist, and author of two books, An Irreligious Faith and Free Range Faith.
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2 Comments

  1. Hi Glenn . Still working with Betty to get her well.
    I have read several of your stories and have enjoyed them all.
    It isn’t a perfect world and I believe everyone is trying the best they can.
    That is not a good thing if one is a criminal.

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