Return To Life
Life and the various components that define it are way too beautiful to be confined by simplistic, binary choices and classifications. You do not have to choose between work and the health of the most vulnerable. You do not have to choose staying at home or working in a crowded place with no infectious control policies. The virus does not have to be no more infectious than the common flu or the most dangerous health challenge of the century.
These are false choices and equivalencies, and we do not have to make them or believe them. Take a breath. Think.
While it may make it easier to see our choices as this simple, this simplicity is only in our imaginations. The creation of these false equivalencies has contributed to a divided nation, a phenomenon which unfortunately has crippled the United States as we have tried to move forward. Without firm ground to use to spring forward, we have lost our biggest asset against the virus and one that we have used in other challenges. We have lost the ability to fight together.
We are intelligent beings by design, and we should use our intelligence and resultant skills to rise above an aversion to the intelligence that theoretically differentiates us from a host of other animals. There is hope. There are already things that we know help. Find them. Use them. Listen to what those that have studied infectious pandemics for decades recommend.
Things that will help and that we should all be able to agree upon:
We don’t know everything about this virus. It will be a long time before we do. In the meantime, we should proceed with the knowledge being placed at our fingertips and with an openness to interpret data that become available on a daily basis. Behavior of this type takes work and stamina. Rest, and be ready every day to listen and to think. It is important for us to think and discuss things logically and to be able to avoid being swept into a vortex of divisiveness.
We will learn more day by day. There are people working hard to understand COVID-19, interpret the data that has been obtained, and design treatments. Many of these people have prepared for their entire lives to come to our rescue in times like these and have validated histories of service. Find them, respect them, support them.
Washing Your Hands Decreases the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.. Handwashing is the single most important part of hygiene for all infectious diseases. Follow instructions about washing your hands for twenty seconds after relevant exposures.
Cough into your elbow, shoulder, or tissue when possible.
Continue to follow social distancing when possible. I am not really sure why this is still called social distancing. It is more accurately termed physical distancing. This recommendation is simply a matter of numbers. While it will not likely be possible to continue to find 6 feet of distance between your fellow human beings for an interminable amount of time, you can continue to try to do so whenever possible. The longer that you can hold out, the better the chances we have of finding treatment by the time that you or a loved contract the disease.
If you or your company can work from home and maintain productivity, please do so. There are all sorts of protocols for returning to work. We have even proposed cyclical return to work for some of our clients, recommending that they return to the physical workplace intermittently. This method, by sheer mathematics, reduces the risk to employees, giving them moments of respite from the stress of being constantly at ill-defined risk.
Get rest, moderate exercise, and find things that help you reduce stress. Find things that make you happy. Things that resonate well with you improve your immunity, though that formula may be different for every human being.
Avoid crowded, confined spaces where you will be in close contact with people for a long time. This is simply a matter of infectious control. Being in close contact with high concentrations of the virus is asking your immune system to go to war. Why do that if you do not have to do so?
Find a comfortable, cloth mask and use it when you will be in close contact with others beyond your home. Yes, learn not to touch your mask all the time. It is not a badge of honor to put yourself, your family, or others at risk. Please forego vanity. Step up to the plate and show inner strength and wear a mask when you are at risk of encountering virus particles.
Ask questions when there are things that you do not understand. Seek sources that seek to understand the data, not the need to give you the answers you desire. This is a critical but important distinction.
When you go to sleep every night, commit to being part of the COVID solution in your community if not the world. If you get up every day of this pandemic with the commitment to improve the life of your fellow man, you will have the best chance of improving the lives of yourself, your family, and everyone around you. With this single resolution, you will be on a better path for return to life. It is my hope, that as we move through the coming months and look back, most of us realize that we never really lost our lives or our liberties. The ones that lost their lives and liberties are no longer with us. To honor them, please be sensible and learn from their paths.