The COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, crap is hitting the fan. Its spread, virulence and our inability to control it are all a part of this crap. It is spreading like wildfire, new cases are confirmed daily and now the age group includes patients age 20 to 54.

It gets worse by the minute as the media hurls more and more bad news at us. It appears the crap slinging will continue until researchers, scientists, and healthcare professionals learn how to stop the spread.

But right now, Coronavirus is a pandemic.

The world appears dark and hopeless.

Social restrictions are stringent. Church on Sunday really hit home for me, such as in churches are closed. The powers that be are advising us to stay away from one another. This means no family gatherings, so if you live alone, prepare yourself to be lonely for the next few months.

And let’s face it, phone calls and virtual Rendez-vous just don’t cut it.

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 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.

It does not speak to you first to see 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.

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.

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.

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 how Coronavirus will 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, the people you live with 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 want 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.

Once we learn to work together to defeat the Coronavirus, we will know the power of unity and compel our world leaders to create the world we elected them to create. Not one that benefits them. Only.

But we have to unite first and I believe that is happening.

And what better way to unite people than a pandemic?

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 craps 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 big 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 originally published by Marilyn Regan on medium.