COVID-19: A few dark facts, a bit of perspective, and some silver linings.
I was surprised this morning to see the death toll from yesterday in the UK was over 180 people taken by COVID-19. That's a lot of people. That is a lot of families who have lost someone they love. That is a lot of death.
I imagine for a moment if even 100 of the people I loved disappeared, forever.
I would be crushed.
Tears start to well up in my eyelids. It's okay to cry when we feel pain, or empathize with the pain of others. If no one told you this before, they should have. Cry away. Those are healing tears. They are letting go rather than burying. Grieve out the pain. Grieve away.
This year I lost my grandmother. She was a woman whose loss was most definitely worth grieving. Ironically, she was also a woman who could find the silver lining to any situation. As I think of her, I remember that there are usually two sides to every story. In the case of COVID-19, there is (and this is not bad to have) mourning and grieving, but there is also a side of joy and encouragement. One should not be discarded for the other, rather a balanced view requires observation of both. "So what is the silver lining to death, Grandma?"
I researched. I crunched numbers. I balanced the playing field. This is what I found.
The Bad News:
It is true that in the 24 hour period of March 27th, around 181 people died in the UK from COVID-19. This is sad, and heart breaking for all who knew them, and all who didn't get a chance to know them. It is also true, and even more heartbreaking, that a total of over 3,000 people around the world died the same day from this disease. This is devastating. I grew up in a town just under 3,000 people. If everyone in that town suddenly was gone, that would be what COVID-19 did on March 27th. Essentially, COVID-19 is killing a small town a day.
Some Perspective:
COVID-19 is indeed a heavy-handed killer. However, perspective is important. The perspective I found first demanded more mourning, and then it brought with it a different wave of feeling. Hope.
We hear what the media gives us. We hear what we choose to hear. This often means that we are shown and choose to listen to stories of intensity over reason. This is a reflection not only of our own human condition and longing for the thrilling, but also a result of news companies' demands for ratings. We want excitement. We are given what we want. As a result, the stories get more intense. Our anxiety grows. Panic is produced.
Take a moment to reflect on the numbers and the reason. In doing so, please do not dismiss the intensity of COVID-19. Do not overlook the severity of the situation. DO, take the perspective, and balance your anxiety and fears. Do find these numbers a place to observe from rather than without.
I imagine for a moment if even 100 of the people I loved disappeared, forever.
I would be crushed.
Tears start to well up in my eyelids. It's okay to cry when we feel pain, or empathize with the pain of others. If no one told you this before, they should have. Cry away. Those are healing tears. They are letting go rather than burying. Grieve out the pain. Grieve away.
This year I lost my grandmother. She was a woman whose loss was most definitely worth grieving. Ironically, she was also a woman who could find the silver lining to any situation. As I think of her, I remember that there are usually two sides to every story. In the case of COVID-19, there is (and this is not bad to have) mourning and grieving, but there is also a side of joy and encouragement. One should not be discarded for the other, rather a balanced view requires observation of both. "So what is the silver lining to death, Grandma?"
I researched. I crunched numbers. I balanced the playing field. This is what I found.
The Bad News:
It is true that in the 24 hour period of March 27th, around 181 people died in the UK from COVID-19. This is sad, and heart breaking for all who knew them, and all who didn't get a chance to know them. It is also true, and even more heartbreaking, that a total of over 3,000 people around the world died the same day from this disease. This is devastating. I grew up in a town just under 3,000 people. If everyone in that town suddenly was gone, that would be what COVID-19 did on March 27th. Essentially, COVID-19 is killing a small town a day.
Some Perspective:
COVID-19 is indeed a heavy-handed killer. However, perspective is important. The perspective I found first demanded more mourning, and then it brought with it a different wave of feeling. Hope.
We hear what the media gives us. We hear what we choose to hear. This often means that we are shown and choose to listen to stories of intensity over reason. This is a reflection not only of our own human condition and longing for the thrilling, but also a result of news companies' demands for ratings. We want excitement. We are given what we want. As a result, the stories get more intense. Our anxiety grows. Panic is produced.
Take a moment to reflect on the numbers and the reason. In doing so, please do not dismiss the intensity of COVID-19. Do not overlook the severity of the situation. DO, take the perspective, and balance your anxiety and fears. Do find these numbers a place to observe from rather than without.
Daily Worldwide Deaths and Causes
*This number I pulled from Wikipedia, which I do not presume to quote with 100% surety.
** based on the crude death rate provided by the USA Central Intelligence Agency.
Curious for more information about what causes deaths around the world? Check this graph out.
Curious about more information about COVID-19 and the mortality rate? Check out this table.
When I read/crunched these numbers this morning, my heart initially sank. Here I was mourning the loss of 3,000 people who the world lost yesterday from COVID-19, when I should have been mourning the loss of 150,000 people! As I researched more, I realized that many of these daily deaths around the world are preventable. Many are a lack of sanitation, water, and medical facilities. There is much mourning to be done. There is much change needed.
I think we all know this. We see it in publications from Samaritan's Purse and Medical Teams International. We are told about how people in the world suffer, and so at some level aware of these sufferings. However, something disconnects us from them. Perhaps the difference is that we who are not directly influenced by a lack of drinking water, poor sanitation or brutal killings because of our gender or race are able to disconnect. Perhaps we hear only what we want to hear. Perhaps they do not apply to us. Perhaps this is a good time for me to wake-up, SEE and truly LISTEN.
So is it even worth mourning the COVID-19 deaths? Yes! Of course! The hardest thing about sicknesses such as COVID-19 is that it claims lives. These lives are valuable. They are worth mourning for. They are NOT to be dismissed with the numbers. Neither should we dismiss the child who died from drinking unfiltered river water, or the woman who is murdered for speaking against misogynistic treatment.
Perhaps we need to mourn more, not less. Perhaps we need to remember that although we are in the middle of a time of suffering, it has always been present. Death is part of life. It is not something to be feared. It is not something to bury. It is a reason to mourn.
The Good News:
As I processed all the above information this morning, I could feel the heaviness building in my heart. I am sure many of you felt that too, if you have read this far and truly reflected on the hurt that the world holds every day (with and without COVID-19). However, just like my grandma always saw, there is also a silver lining!
Here are a few beautiful facts:
- Even though there are deaths to mourn each day, there are around 350,000 new births daily to celebrate! (With each new child comes new beginnings, new joys, new stories, and new laughter. This is wonderful!)
- People all over the world are banding together to support each other in the wake of COVID-19. (How beautiful that people are sacrificing, serving and loving each other!)
- There is hope for healing and recovery! (Please do not take this as an excuse to dismiss precautions. The numbers below are percentages, which mean the more infected, the more who suffer. Act with caution to protect you and those around you.)
- 21% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases have already recovered.
- 95% of remaining cases are NOT currently classified as serious or critical. (The remaining 5% are, so keep those individuals and families in mind.)
- There is time to be still while in isolation. (In this busy world, how often do we spend time in stillness? When did we last spend this much time with our families and our kids? Maybe there is something to be gleaned during this time of quiet stillness. Maybe there were priorities that were wrong before...)
May this COVID-19 outbreak not instill in us fear, but a stillness and a realization that there is suffering in the world, even when we are not the ones experiencing it. May we be selfless instead of selfish, empathetic instead of condemning, and SEEING and HEARING beyond the walls of where we find comfort. Truly, it is in these places of discomfort that we gather the most learning and development the greatest growth.
Thankful for those who are growing at this time. Thankful for those who are serving. Thinking of those who are suffering. Praying for those who have lost.
- Amy J. Stewart
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