There’s hardly a person on this planet who doesn’t know the word “Coronavirus”, and I mean not only adults but even kids… Moreover, this word may sound familiar even to babies who are most likely to learn its meaning before they actually learn to say their first word, “mom”:D. Sounds pathetic, doesn’t it? Well, no wonder, as the mass media are doing their best at what they are usually good at – spreading the panic by 24 news streaming and getting really rich at the expense…of OUR mental well-being…

Sure, the problem is huge, after all, it’s a pandemic we’re facing nowadays, and the problem is getting bigger at the speed of light. But should we really make Coronavirus the main object of our thinking process? Should we really stick to our TV’s and feed our brain only on the threatening news ? Should we really wake up at night to check the new statistics each time our phones buzz a new COVID-19 alert?

Why Is It Important To Stay Cool

Imagine people doing this each and every day for 1 year: reading the latest COVID-19 news in the morning, watching live streaming and Coronavirus talk shows during the day, discussing what’s new about the Coronavirus with your friends and family on the phone or chat, and waking up at night from the new Coronavirus outbreak alerts. What changes do you think they will undergo? Will they become happier, healthier, more patient, and less aggressive? Of course, not! They will more likely to develop fear and aggression, because their minds feed off the fear only.

“Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.’ ~Bertrand Russell

~Bertrand Russell

Take a moment to think about that. Do you really want to be one of those people whose mind works according to the installed FEAR and PANIC software? Do you really want to become a slave of the Digital Era System and eventually develop an obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, or neurosis? I doubt that anyone would answer “Yes”. The problem is just that people don’t know how to deal with such huge amounts of negative emotions and frustrating news.

Well, the answer is simple: all you need to do is to transform the negative into positive.

Why Is It Happening to Us?

I am not going to provide you with a scientific explanation on how has COVID-19 actually begun, as even the scientists still argue about the origins of it. I want to divert your attention to the messages that the Coronavirus is trying to convey to us.

Any change whether it may seem a positive or negative at a glance, comes to teach us something new. Any change is an opportunity for transformation. And it’s only up to you to use this chance to transform for the better or worse, to become a better, stronger, kinder, and more compassionate person or turn into a monster who neither acts humanely nor thinks sanely. Remember: If you can’t change the situation, change your attitude toward it. This is a great chance to learn it on practice!

I’ve come up with a few lessons that I feel the Coronavirus is trying to teach us, and if we keep them in mind, it will help us stay positive during these crazy times of the pandemic .

1. It’s time for the Humanity to stop being greedy about money
   Look at a bigger picture of what we have become as humans. The only moral value that people are guided by is money. Love and marriage is no longer of any value in the world, instead, their focus is shifted towards benefit, becoming rich and successful, investing money to gain more profit. Below, are a few quotes by real people whom I met while travelling.
   

“I don’t want to get married, because it takes too much money to have a family. I prefer to focus on becoming successful in life”.

Sungja, 31 yo, Seoul, South Korea

“She broke up with me because I did not buy her expensive gifts. She married another guy, because I was not rich enough for her”.

Min-Jun, 43 yo, Seoul, South Korea

“These days, Diana, any girl would not date me unless I have a car”.

Abinuka, 32 yo, Sri Lanka

Two years ago, I met a person from New York who spent his entire life trying to become a millionaire and didn’t want to commit to a marriage or any sort of relationship. He did succeed and was enjoying 20 wonderful years being rich. But one day he ran bankrupt. Now he is 60. His mother is dead, his friends are gone (as he’s not rich anymore), and he doesn’t have anybody to take care of him when he is sick. He feels lonely and miserable.

Because of the Coronavirus, many people lost their jobs, many of them are deprived of the opportunity to make more money. Maybe it is the right time to make a stop and contemplate upon what is REALLY most important in life?

2. It’s time for the Humanity to stop damaging our Planet

For years and years, humanity has been obsessed about producing more industrial products that would bring them money – more and more and more money, and even more than that. As a result, many people and wild animals die because of the pollution that comes from factories and plants.

Here are some good news that the Coronavirus has brought us:

• According to the Financial Times, the level of toxic carbon emissions has fallen significantly due to the Coronavirus.

• Just in China, about 77,000 lives were saved due to the quarantine and reduced pollution, says Forbes.

• In Sardinia, dolphins are swimming in harbors, because ferries are no longer there.

The Secretary of the United Nations stated that the threat from the Coronavirus is temporary while the threat coming from the pollution that comes from humanity will remain with us for years.

3. It’s time people give quality time, love and attention to their family members

Since making money has become our primary concern, many family members didn’t really have a chance to spend some quality time with their families. So, maybe this is the right time to do that.

Now, this part may be tricky: We have gotten used to spending 90% of our time communicating with technology – a computer or a phone. We can get loads of information from them, but we can’t get the most important thing from them: the energy and the emotional exchange. We are used to that, and this is our comfort zone.

Staying 24 hours a day means not only stepping out of our comfort zone but also having a constant source of external aggravator – kids or spouse, and it may be spiky at times. But all you need to keep in mind is that this is WHAT REAL LIFE IS ALL ABOUT – sometimes you’re very happy with your family, sometimes you may fight, sometimes bored, sometimes having fun. But this is what it is like to be a part of a family, enjoy every part of it. And remember: Without downs, you will not know ups, without fights, you will not know what it is like to be happy.

4. It is time people learn meditation and mindfulness

You don’t need to be an Indian Guru to have a need in meditation or mindfulness. Both practices are something that an average human needs in order to stay calm in a stressful situation and let the body function properly by producing the hormone responsible for being calm and happy, called serotonin.

When we do something, our thoughts travel with the speed of 70-120 meters per second which is 156-270 miles per hour. Each thought that pops up in our minds can bring us emotions, positive or negative. Can you imagine the amount of stress that comes just from our thinking? The good news is that we can choose to react or ignore our own thoughts, especially those that can cause stress.

Mindfulness is being present at the moment, not thinking about the past or future. When you choose to be mindful during such stressful times as the Coronavirus outbreak, you let yourself stop thinking about the future or the past, you are just being aware of what you are doing while you are doing it. What we are actually doing when we incorporate mindfulness into our daily lives is that we are letting our brain have a sort of rest, a sort of emotional holiday. During this “holiday”, we are helping our bodies produce serotonin.

So, whether you are washing dishes, cooking, or simply washing your hands, focus on the present moment, on the feeling you get from this activity. If you’re taking a shower, focus on the feeling you get when the water is running over your body, when you’re cooking, focus on the consistency of the food you’re cutting. Don’t let your mind wander from the past into the future. If, however, you catch yourself thinking about the future, don’t grasp to those thoughts, don’t attach to them. Just simply say to yourself “Oh, I’m thinking about the future again” and come back to the present moment.

Remember, if you let the situation bring you down, things will not get better, and the crisis will not be over if you start to panic. So, the only choice that we all have is to stay positive, learn our lessons, and transform into better, stronger, and happier individuals.