The coronavirus, seen with different eyes

In a moment of abundance and self-indulgence, of relaxation and enjoyment of the most exotic desires, of trips at will and wishes fulfilled with a snap of the fingers, in a world supposedly where even psychology had entered the path of short-term well-being, with techniques such as Mindfulness, so old and so modern, with the unique aspiration of being "all Zen", he knocks on our door an unexpected visitor, with a strange name and numerical append code, typical of the computational times in which we live.

But this little friend comes from other planes, he does not understand technology or economics, he does not know that they exist institutions as important as nations, and textile designs as captivating as the flags of said nations. He doesn't know that we are an evolved society, a civilization that has created something as unimaginably wonderful as democracy, or dictatorship, that there are tastes for everything.

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The arrival of the virus

It turns out that this individual is of a different class, neither middle, nor high, nor low. It comes from a very ancient lineage, prior to all human developments known and mentioned before. Apparently, the experts tell us, it is a virus. It turns out that his family was one of the first to park on our planet, and that viruses in the plural were one of the first manifestations of life in our world.

Curious, we did not expect this visit. Some scientists spoke to us some time ago about something called a pandemic, a somewhat ignominious name with a bad image. But hey, after all, What is a microscopic being, bring pandemics or any other with it, so that a civilization of our height and technology is scared?. We have science, we have resources, we have politics and above all we have money, someone will do something and everything will stay the same.

But this new friend has not been introduced, he does not know the virtues of our system or understand the perfection of our defenses. It only brings us a simple message, "you are vulnerable". He speaks to us in direct and unambiguous language about sickness and death. It is not his fault that we have been slow to understand the message, if we have understood anything.

Indeed, each country, each political system, without understanding ideologies or borders, has been slow to react. At first we all believed that it was a matter of others, either distant countries, or poor countries without health coverage as on previous occasions. But no, this time our friend has entered our sacrosanct dwellings in the West, without understanding that we are superior, different.

And for the first time, in a long time, a terrible sensation has reached us, no less welcome because it is more familiar; the fear. Suddenly sickness and death lurk literally around every corner, even in our best friend or by dint of being honest with our new lover. Hands can't touch our face, and our hugs can't delude themselves with the bodies of those we love. Our mortal friend is there. Everywhere and nowhere.

Also literally, the leaders of our species do not know where the air hits them. They act, surely with good will, by trial and error, just as our species has done since we climbed down from the trees in an attempt to be something more than monkeys.

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fear and avoidance

In psychology we always talk about fear as a tool linked to almost all the traumas that we have to experience. And we understand that consciously coping with fear is the best way to deal with said psychological wounds.

Mindfulness in this case is a precious approach to know the origin, the causes, the evolution and the consequences of our life experiences. We talk about mindfulness, living in the present moment, seeing things as they are. And one wonders, are we living this pandemic in full attention?

The virus brings us a warning, uncertainty, not knowing, not controlling. And this triggers at the planetary level the consequence of all known; the fear. But behold, our response, shaped by the most atavistic fears, instead of looking at the problem head-on, we take the avoidance path, just like we do with our everyday problems.

Is it so difficult to "see things as they are" that the teacher would say? Apparently yes. Fear blinds our perception, our reflection and even our heart.

Is it so difficult to understand that the message of this dear enemy is planetary, global and that the response to his challenge can only be of the same level; planetary and global? Can we look for once beyond our pettiness in the form of fears and ambitions? Do we really believe that a local response, in our little piece of planet earth, is going to save our economy, when it is sinking all over the world? Does anyone in their right mind believe that they are going to get rid of the pandemic individually in the face of a threat that floods the five continents?

Sad is the human condition that, faced with the fear of illness and lurking death, elusive, uncontrollable, takes refuge in an absurd search for culprits, be they politicians or scientists, embrace mindless gurus who promise promised lands, and curse and point even the few brave ones, the health workers, who are on the front line of combat and whom we love in our lives. We applaud from the balconies, yes, we appreciate your courage, yes, but please, stay away from our portal, or don't cross too much into our lives.

The lessons of this unwanted visit are clear: politics has lost contact with reality, science has shown its limitations and healthcare has shown its shortcomings. But above all nature, viruses included, has exploded with an unknown force with a whisper that tells us, “You are not unique, nor essential, you are vulnerable and, if you step aside, life continues, it flourishes everywhere, business as usualWhat would we say? Nobody is going to miss us.

concluding

Hopefully we understand the message of the virus. Health, climate, energy, after this scenario, are global challenges, and if we lived it from full attention, no one would doubt that they need a global response.

Globalization cannot only be economic in the sense of seeking the maximum benefit by relocating production, otherwise it has to be a supportive and sustainable response at a planetary level.

In short, fear dressed as ambition, envy, greed, arrogance, intolerance must give way to consciousness expressed in the form of communication, solidarity, sustainability and, above all, never forget the humility of recognizing ourselves as part of that nature that has resurfaced before us, let's accompany his dance, let's become one with his essence.

This and no other, is the new form of therapeutic intervention, which beyond approaches and protocols, should consist of teaching to live and to accompany in a different way. This at least is the challenge for Vitaliza and her entire team.

Author: Javier Elcarte Psychologist, Founder and Director of Vitaliza