6 Things We’ve Learned from Corona Virus

1) Our health is invaluable, and we take it for granted.

The first lesson we can take away from the past few months is that our health is our most prized resource. Corona virus has taught us that without our health, all the work we have put in and advancement we have achieved is worthless. We take for granted being able to travel freely and spend our time as we please and visiting loved ones or other human interaction seen as taboo when our health is in shambles. Even something as simple as shaking hands or opening a door is a threat when our health is not intact. Your health is something only you can control. It is no one else’s responsibility to perpetuate and maintain your wellbeing. Our health is an investment that will continue to pay dividends for years to come and is worth spending a significant amount of time and resources to preserve.

2) Family Comes First

During the recent stay at home orders, we learned another valuable lesson—family can get us through anything. We learned that spending quality time together is a powerful fuel that can propel us through the toughest of times. Quality time is when we learn about each other and grow together because we connect on a humanistic level without all the noise from the outside world. When we take the time to connect on a deeper level with our family it makes our lives brighter. We learned that we do not need to look to the outside world for our happiness and to fill voids in our lives. What we needed all along is to invest time and effort into those closest to us. When you build a strong family bond, it will always be there to draw upon when times are tough. The people we love most and invest in emotionally will always have your back and when all else fails will step up in whatever way they can. That kind of relationship leads to a healthy state of mind and fulfillment beyond measure and is something we desperately need in today’s world.

3) Teachers deserve WAY more credit

Being cooped up in our homes together wasn’t always easy. Parents had to re-learn basic knowledge and long division themselves and THEN try to teach it to their kids. We learned that teaching is not as easy as we make it seem and that it can be exhausting. Ultimately, we learned the educators that mold and shape our children do not get the credit they deserve. They are amazing at what they do and shape our future by conveying essential knowledge and empowering our children. They take on a task many parents simply cannot accomplish on their own. Parents and relatives alike have gained a much greater appreciation for what teachers do by stepping into their shoes and trying to do it themselves. In the end teachers will be given the credit they are due, because without them our future isn’t as bright.

4) We need to fundamentally change how we live

The only way to prevent another pandemic from happening is to fundamentally change our way of life. We need to focus on building a society that is based on healthy habits and not running ourselves into the ground. Our current way of living wears us down unnecessarily and allows for excuses as to why we aren’t taking care of ourselves. We manage our symptoms while we work long hours and ignore the warning signs that our health is deteriorating. We emotionally neglect ourselves and each other and try to fill the void with the façade of social media to make us feel connected. A major change is necessary to deploy our best defense against another pandemic. What is that defense? The answer is HEALTHY PEOPLE. Our immune system has evolved over thousands of years to protect us from whatever threatens our life. As a species, we can overcome any disease known to man. That is why our best bet to stop this circumstance from repeating itself is to invest in our people and build a society based on principles of wellness, not reactionary sick care. Reacting to a problem once it has already begun is not an effective strategy. Societies built upon truth and implementation of policies and habits that nurture healthy people have lower rates of almost every category of disease including mental illness. It is time for us as citizen stewards of this planet to stop lying to ourselves and making excuses as to why it isn’t possible to produce the healthiest generation of people the world has ever seen. Our resources are plentiful, and the knowledge is there. Where we are lacking is in the implementation and execution because we are driven by our false belief that we can continue to operate above the constraints of our universe. We allow our ego and greed to convince ourselves that abundance doesn’t exist and cannot exist. That there is not enough to go around, and our privilege is worth preserving regardless of the suffering it imposes on others. A different set of priorities is what is necessary to shift from reaction to prevention and to head off a pandemic like this from happening again.

5) Our current “healthcare” doesn’t keep us healthy

Measuring a successful healthcare system should not be based on seeing the most patients, generating the most profits, or being the most expensive/advanced system with the best MANAGEMENT of disease. A successful system is gauged by having the best patient outcomes, preventing/reversing disease, and utilizing our exceptional physicians and technology (system) as little as possible. Our HEALTHcare system should be built on principles that keep people HEALTHY, not SICK and shepherd society to prioritize those principles. What we have learned during this pandemic is that we do not have a successful system. It could be easily overwhelmed, and we have too few people that are healthy enough to fight off the virus without medical attention. Thankfully, this scenario did not come true but the fear that it has caused should be more than enough to motivate us to take action and make changes to our current approach to healthcare. Our trauma care is some of the best in the world. However, trauma care doesn’t keep you healthy. It is reactive and that only allows for symptom management or life saving measures at best.

Think of our current healthcare system as the fire department. Think of the axes and hoses used by the fire department as surgery and drugs. Lastly think of your health as your home.

When you are sick and in crisis it is like your home is on fire and you are at risk of losing your home/life. You call the fire department and they rush there with their axes and hoses (surgery and drugs) knock down walls, spray down your home and do further damage to your house (your health) in hopes of saving your home (you) before it is a total loss (death). Now, the next day when you return home, do you call the fire department with their axes and hoses to get your home back to its original condition? No, of course not. Axes and hoses don’t fix a home that has been damaged by fire. It is the contractor, plumber, painter, landscapers, etc. that do this. These people represent wellness care providers, exercise, healthy eating habits, and so on that help your body heal so you can regain your health after a crisis. Health is not simply the absence of symptoms but a state of being manifested over time that allows us to resist disease and continue to grow and evolve in a positive manner.

6) We are the biggest threat to ourselves

The current circumstances in our country have demonstrated that we have more glaring problems within our society and governing bodies. These problems are brought on by our actions and reactions to others and their differing viewpoints. These current issues are much more manageable compared to a pandemic. We operate on a macro scale which means we have little to no control over something as small as a virus or bacteria. We are unable to exist in harmony on a macro scale, yet we are focused on controlling a pandemic that is nearly impossible to accomplish. If we would humble ourselves and acknowledge how little we know about the microscopic world and admit that we are the most imminent threat to ending our existence, we could move mountains. This admission requires us to set aside our ego’s and harness the power of cooperation and teamwork. This is something that we tapped into with the stay at home orders which caused another set of problems and wasn’t 100% effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19. We need to begin to think for ourselves as citizens and follow leaders whose motives are driven by pure intentions and common sense. This can only be done with open eyes and minds and not by blind trust and burying our heads in the sand. Integrity in everything is a motto that could benefit people no matter their role. Whether it be politicians, law enforcement, business owners, administration, or parents we can all benefit from self-reflection and evaluation of the integrity of our actions.

There are many more lessons that we have gained from Corona Virus but it is our responsibility to acknowledge what we’ve learned and take action. We are the highest evolved species on the planet and with that comes the capability to adapt to and shape our planet. Now let’s go out and make the world a better place for everyone.