Fear and the Invisible Enemy
Everyone can visualize a spider; hairy or shiny, eight legs, eight eyes, might seem so large, up close, still and waiting or moving so fast, seemingly right towards you, fangs? Maybe a snake; bright and colorful or dull and dusty, still and coiled or slithering, scaly, beady, unblinking eyes, big fangs, flicking tongue. Sharks; they are down there, below the surface, just waiting to attack, rows and rows of triangle, razor teeth. Zombies; decaying, relentless, lurching, dead eyes, hands outstretched, fixated on one thing only, human flesh. Aliens of all descriptions with evil intent. Any number of demented men with masks, or not, chainsaws or other instruments of dismemberment and death.
There are so many dangers from fiction or experience, so easy to visualize.
Then there are viruses. Absolutely silent, unable to move or reproduce on their own, don’t think or eat, odorless, invisible even to the light microscopes (the ones from high school biology). Viruses are so small they can only be seen with electron microscopes. So small they don’t even have color. All those brilliantly colored illustrations are imaginary. About 1000th the width of a human hair, viruses are totally undetectable to human senses. How scary! They could be anywhere and everywhere.
What to do?
For a sense of control, do what can be done; wash hands, use a mask, practice physical distancing, eat healthy and get enough sleep.
For peace of mind, turn the mind off. At least parts of the mind. Imagination, which is the engine of anything that humans have ever created, can be the enemy of peace. Limit the amount of news about Covid-19 consumed. Avoid watching or listening to talk shows or press conferences. Read a few reliable sources, stop when the information becomes repetitive. Maybe listen to uplifting music or informative podcasts, watch positive, mind challenging shows, read. Connect with other humans in whatever ways are safe. Move the body. Remember a time of isolation. Remember when it ended and life returned to normal, with all the details. Bring that feeling to now and project it into the future. Use the power of the imagination for peace of mind.
Don Berlyn June, 2020
