The COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, crap has hit the fan. Hard. The incidents, prevalence and social distancing issues are all a part of this crap. It spread like wildfire and no age group escaped its grasp. Pandemics don’t discriminate.

The media isn’t helping the situation and is intent on bringing us bad news, the more the better. It appears the crap slinging will continue until researchers, scientists, and healthcare professionals learn how to control the spread.

But right now, Coronavirus is still virulent with over 100K cases in the United States alone.

The world appears dark and hopeless. We’ve spent the last 10 weeks in isolation, unable to stand closer than six feet together and were forbidden to touch. This was, an continues to be, a means of protecting ourselves and stopping the spread.

Thankfully, phase one of easing social restrictions is in progress with local governments keeping an eye on the curve. If it goes up, phases two won’t happen. We are all cautiously optimistic and with warm weather and the loosening of restrictions, some families are gathering. But if you live alone you’re still alone.

And let’s face it, phone calls and zoom meetings are not replacements for human contact.

I feel like, Help! Don’t make me live in the Twilight Zone.

Not a single industry has escaped the fallout. Hospitality, beauty, sports, travel, music, fitness, and even public transportation have been negatively affected.

We’re not happy, but honestly? We weren’t that happy before.

What is Coronavirus/COVID-19 is telling us

Coronavirus is non-discriminatory. It knows no boundaries. It invades all living organisms. Like a vampire in need of blood.

It doesn’t care about the color of your skin. It does not care about which country you live in or what language you speak.

It doesn’t ask what political party you belong to. It pays no attention to your sexual preference. Or if your opinions are right or left-leaning.

Your money can’t bribe it. If you’re breathing and have a heartbeat, you’re fair game.

The reality is, whether your ego is prepared to accept it or not, get ready now for this revelation:

We’re all the same, like it or not.

All of us are human beings and we live on the same planet. It’s a place we should be sharing.

And it is we humans who have created these arbitrary boundaries, these artificial rules that segregate us, resulting in one group being judged as less worthy and therefore less human than us or not human at all. We’ve fallen for this belief.

Astronauts will tell you when you look down upon the earth; there are no boundaries. It’s just one planet. Mother Nature is the boss, and she sees it otherwise.

Bingo.

Can you say catharsis? Good. I knew you could. A catharsis is “the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions.” In Greek it literally means cleansing.

For example, after a tough day at work, we might go out and listen to music and throw down a few brewskis. Or go for a run or to a yoga class.

I believe the Coronavirus will cleanse and release us from our overblown stressful lives by forcing us to unite, and in doing so, eradicate the hate and animosity we express toward one another. At least that is my wish.

It’s like an antibiotic for a sick body curing a nasty illness, leaving the patient healthy. The antibiotic is harsh, but in the end, it saves. This is why Coronavirus has the power to unite us. That’s right because to beat it and rebuild, every single one of us is going to have to work together as a part of one international society. And that’s exactly the change this world needs.

It is acting as a common enemy and forcing us to work together. We will develop a new pattern of communication and camaraderie.

We have been fighting with one another. And if you are fighting with the people you live with, they are tense and uncomfortable. You aren’t happy; they aren’t happy. Think of the world as one big family and we are fighting with one another like junkyard dogs.

No wonder we’re not happy!

This vision is not a national thing. It’s a global thing. And it’s going to take the combined know-how, energy, and creativity of everyone to address this crisis. Perhaps, as is often the case, once we work together, we will learn to get along thus resolving our many of our differences.

Think of it as uniting to defeat a common enemy.

We will see ourselves as citizens of the same planet, not just the tiny piece we inhabit.

Right now, our system isn’t working. But we’re on our way.

A New System

We all know the current systems of governments that define our world are badly flawed.

We demand change, so we protest and point the finger claiming it’s someone else’s fault. We say we want to change, yet we continue to work against one another. The end result is that nothing changes. Think of it as the Push me-Pull me in Dr. Dolittle.

I mean, we’re way beyond Democrats and Republicans here. I’m talking about citizens of the world. Like the world John Lennon talks about in Imagine. We’ve never before imagined our world united, so naturally, it can’t come to pass. It’s like an athlete not having the ability to do something until they can envision themselves doing it.

And when the crap clears, I think we’ll be at that stage.

At this point, maybe we will be able to imagine a world where we take greater responsibility for our actions, one another, and all living things on our beautiful planet. Cities may give way to smaller communities with the politicians working for us, corporations will fall into line.

Our possessions won’t be as important and we’ll move away from consumerism. This doesn’t mean we can’t have our toys, but they will no longer be the sole source of our happiness.

We will understand the true philosophy of democracy and what it takes to make it work, foregoing individual gratification for the sake of a better community and society overall.

Life won’t be a free ride. In fact, this will take a lot of work.

Am I Crazy?

I might be getting a bit, yes at this point. Welcome to Flip City.

But I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m 62 years old, so I do have a few years and experiences behind me. This panic is unrivaled. Worse than the gas shortage in the 1970s. People are hoarding and afraid they are going to die. We feel like we’re fighting for our lives, and for some of us, this may be true.

So once we work together to defeat this common enemy, this virus, I believe we will feel what it’s like to be in agreement as opposed to conflict with one another. And that together, we can make the world and our lives better.

We’ll be different.

And smarter.

This article was formerly published in Medium.