As many people have said over the past couple of weeks, things have not been so fun or fresh or even pleasant. Right now, anxiety and stress are attacking us constantly from all sides, forming an oppressive palm to the world’s collective forehead and preventing any forward movement. No matter who you are and what stage of life you are in, these questions haunt us all hours of the day: Will I get sick today? Will someone I know get sick today? Will I finally run out of toilet paper? It’s important to take a step back from it all, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that the world is not ending.
Of course, saying what we need to do is a lot easier than actually doing it, and I find myself forgetting that chances are, I will probably not be extremely haunted by this period of time in the future. Will I be more cautious about not touching my face? Will I be more aware of what supplies I have stockpiled in my house? Will I get more irritated at people who don’t cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze? Most likely to all of the above. This event, however, won’t stop the world from turning forever, and it definitely won’t stop me from pursuing my dreams. Despite being a quite horrific and traumatizing experience, the COVID-19 pandemic, just like any major global event, will come to pass, and the world will eventually move on.
Now, understanding and internalizing that message are two different things. It’s not hard to acknowledge the fact that once this global pandemic is over, we will all move on in our own ways, but it is extremely difficult to keep your spirits about the future up when you’re currently in day 40 day of your quarantine, someone you know is sick, or someone you know has died. I have a hard time not getting bogged down in the uncertainty of the near future, and I can admit I have really started to feel stir crazy. This past week, course registration sent me spiraling, making me wonder if I will even get to fully enjoy classes in person my senior year, if I’ll be forced to take another semester online, or if we will even have classes at all. It took some time, but I eventually reminded myself that getting stuck in a loop of uncertainty and anxiety over things I ultimately have no control over isn’t healthy.
Practicing mindfulness, in my opinion, is the key to getting through the next couple of months. According to Mindful, a non-profit centered around the practice of being mindful, “mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” Continuously ruminating over the things that cause you stress and anxiety has never been healthy before, and so constantly worrying about COVID-19 isn’t healthy now, either. Next time you feel yourself start to spiral about the current global pandemic or the uncertainty of the future, try to practice mindfulness by meditating. It can be as quick as three minutes a day or as long as you need it to be. There are many resources out there to help guide you through your meditation, including Mindful’s website or Headspace, which is an app that I personally use.
Again, I know it has been a rough month. It will probably continue to be a rough couple of months. But, it won’t last forever, and I look forward to the day when this is all over. Here’s a poem from A Book of Luminous Things by Czeslaw Milosz about nonattachment to help you let go of the anxieties weighing you down:
“A Long Lifetime” by Kenneth Rexroth
A long lifetime
Peoples and places
And the crisis of mankind ––
What survives is the crystal ––
Infinitely small ––
Infinitely large ––