Surfing COVID

Often I start my response to someone seeking my opinion in a crisis like this: “As a professional anxious person...” Immediately they understand that I’ve been there, and I remember that I have a lifetime of experience being confronted with at least the imagining of the very worst case scenario possible. I further understand that anyone in crisis is confronted with two energies: a wave of creative possibility and an undertow of despair. These energies are bigger than us, and we can only navigate our way through it. Cleaving to the wave as much as possible brings the best outcome and the most happiness.

In these COVID days, every person on the planet has a crisis or two. For me, it’s helping my eldest brother Phil, who has COVID now.. Phil has lifelong cognitive, physical and now elder challenges. He lives in a group home in the Midwest where every resident and some staff have tested positive in the last week. Some are already claimed by the undertow. As of yesterday, Phil’s still surfing the wave, thanks to his light symptoms and attitude, but mostly because there are angels around him creating as much wave as they can.

This disease is so capricious. Yes, many people live through it, but the outcome feels so random. Just like the waves in the ocean, I'm sure there's a larger pattern, but so big that we are still at the mercy of the wave. It has it's own mind and we can't always best it, regardless of our skill. For me, at my level, the only valid response is a prayer that my brother navigates this latest challenge and comes soon to a safe shore.

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