Viral Overload
I don’t know about you, but I am weary of seeing the super magnified coronavirus molecule everywhere I turn. Certainly, we want to be informed citizens, but we are awash in scary images and language, sometimes without any real content. Rather than feeling informed, the overload can invoke a lot of fear and anxiety.
Re-purposing Language
But words and images can also work for good. We can re-purpose some of the words floating around about COVID-19 toward a concept like compassion.
Instead of an invisible virus, could we envision a world where compassion is an unseen force making its way through the population? We don’t know where it might show up. It could be at the grocery store, or church, or work. And like the virus, could compassion be sticky so that once someone is exposed to it, there is a good change it can take root?
Could we infect others with compassion?
As we send compassionate energy out into the world could it go viral? Viral load refers to enough of the virus being present so that an infection can take place. Maybe if we all amplified our own compassion games, we could tip the balance. A pandemic of compassion could take place.
It Starts with Us
Practicing compassion is a mindful activity we can cultivate. It is not always easy, as humans can be challenging creatures. We don’t have to like what others are doing, but we might find a place in our hearts to understand that people sometimes do reckless and unwise things when they are scared, confused, and mis-informed. I’m not suggesting we give them a pass on bad behavior. Rules should be enforced (wearing masks in stores for example because it protects others). But we might find a way to hold those individuals in our hearts with kindness and understanding. Compassion begins with each of us.
Garden Analogies to Spread Compassion
If reclaiming COVID-19 words feels too challenging, there are garden analogies for spreading compassion. Some of my favorite wild healing plants, dandelion and burdock, send multitudes of seeds out into the world. Burdock seeds are encased in sticky burrs that enable the seeds to travel great distances on fur, shoes, and pant legs. And dandelions, of course, have magical seed heads that look like fairy wands dispersing seeds far and wide through the wind.
Could we imagine the energy of compassion traveling as seeds to plant themselves throughout the world? Every act of compassion on our part is a seed sent out into the wild. Let’s envision (and act on our vision) a world where compassion has gone viral and all decisions are shaped through that lens.
