Watching the impact the pandemic is having on the world gives you perspective
Perspective can be a wonderful thing but difficult to master. Our current times call out for this. A couple things have helped me of late to gain a renewed perspective.
Last week an incredible television event was broadcast on all three major networks. It’s goal was to bring the world together as we face the pandemic. We got to listen to people from all over the world; Doctors, care workers, patients, mental health practitioners, leaders of countries, members of the United Nations and World Health Organization.
They joined with the entertainers to honor those fighting the disease on every front, as well as inform and inspire us. The event was the brainchild of Lady Gaga. Never had I seen so many talented and smart people together at one time; to name a few; Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Celine Dion, John Legend, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, First Lady Laura Bush, First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Bill and Melinda Gates, Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman, Ice Cube, and the Rolling Stones.
Seeing the impact in other places of the world is what impacted me the most. Africa was already overwhelmed with 25% of its countries having HIV, the poor and undernourished are now overwhelmed with this pandemic. Seeing the faces of those who are ill, those who have lost loved ones makes the problems very real. A doctor In India showed us crowded hospitals, grieving families, and spoke of the hope that can only come if we all work together.
In Italy we were brought face to face with the carnage the pandemic has caused and how valiantly they are striving to survive. We also flew over to see Spain and Mexico. Even our Indian reservations are being hit hard by the virus. It was magical and it was painful, but most of all it reminded me what a pandemic is. It is not just how it affects our own family, our own city, state or country.
No, it is about how the whole world is suffering, praying and hoping together. And together is the only way we can slay pandemic monsters.
Also influencing my perspective is the true story of a man wrongly convicted of murder. He suffered in the strict confinement of death row for three decades before he was finally found innocent and released.
“The Sun Does Shine,” by Anthony Ray Hinton, was like a slap in the face of harsh reality. We complain about being “sheltered in place”, for a short time. Can you imagine 30 years in a cell the size of a bathroom? If we are frustrated by our current limitations and choices, imagine his emotions, innocent and waiting to be executed while he.watched 35 inmates walk to their death. Imagine the fears he knew.
He admits he learned to imagine trips and great experiences just to help keep sane. His world was so small that mine seems huge by comparison. I have a big front yard and a wonderful backyard to enjoy. The view from my windows show children on bikes, people walking their dogs, a neighbor planting flowers, not bars,. We have restaurants that will deliver food to us, family and friends who call or Facebook.. And we have hope. I believe that this disruption in our lives will end soon, and hopefully we will remember how we felt, and therefore enjoy more fully the freedom of movement we have temporarily lost.