THE YEAR OF TRIBULATION

It's almost a year since my heart surgery, and yet I haven't written about it as I was planning to do... However, the world has gone crazy, and right now it's not on top of my "to-do" list. Coronavirus pandemic is raging among us, and my heart condition makes me part of the risk group. 

Now that I'm writing this, only 5 people have died in Finland so far. Finland has taken hard measures, schools were mostly closed, gatherings restricted, borders were closed, and southern part of the country, where the most infections have been found,  is being isolated from the rest of the country (luckily, that's not where I live), and we all are practicing "social distancing", and strict hygiene, as we are told to do. 

Just like in the United States, we have witnessed people hoarding food and toilet paper, and sanitizers are mainly sold out everywhere. 

I am in "socially critical profession", as a cleaner. Nowadays it's disinfection everywhere. Yet my employer also needs to lay off temporarily many employees, because so many clients have to close their businesses. 

One well-meaning friend texted me I should stay at home, but that's not realistic, as long as it's not an order from authorities, and I still have a job to go to, unlike so many others. Besides, at work I feel much safer than going to supermarket. Now it's time to use online shopping and home delivery. Many clients do remote work anyway, and my work is more important than ever before! I just do my best, following the instructions. Of course your health should be first priority, before livelihood, but I don't see it as an option to stay away from work on my own. 

Another friend commented that "this might be an updated Black Death; Nature is eliminating the weak." But it's not about the weak, it's about the human race as a whole. It's not very encouraging, but can't help thinking the Nature is trying to get rid off the vermins of the planet. 

Some people seem to think, "I am young and healthy, if I get sick, it's going to be mild; the weak will die, what can you do? It's not my concern." 

It's not guaranteed that young and healthy person would not get a serious illness and even die. And yes, we all die sooner or later, but even I don't want to die just yet. 

Same friend continued that "here in Finland we have different conditions, which will affect the virus, cleaner air, and no pollution like in China. Virus is transforming all the time..." What a load of crap! That has nothing to do with scientific facts! 

Stop repeating the mantra, "Most people get just slightly sick"! MOST PEOPLE. If you are careless for your own health, you are careless for other people's health as well, and possibly even for their lives! That's extreme selfishness! How is it so hard to understand? 

There is no need to panic, as long as you do all you can, but neither one should be lulled to false sense of security. We just don't know yet. It will take months in any case. 

 A thought that is giving me comfort at these times, instead of being worried of my own well-being all the time, is that I am not alone, this is not about me, I'm not any special: we are all in the same situation together! Our president Sauli Niinistö said, we should keep a physical distance, but take a spiritual closeness. 

As an introvert, it's not hard for me to stay away from people, it's just my life. Obviously, it's getting even more concrete forms when you have to be careful of casual contacts while going outside. With my husband I sometimes go for a walk late in the night. 

This too will pass, but hopefully we learn something, and prepare better. 

For study and pondering:

A little bit of Anthroposophical perspective... From a lecture Rudolf Steiner gave in 1914:

"Let me illustrate this with an obvious example. As we know, people today are haunted by a fear we can compare with the medieval fear of ghosts. It is the fear of germs. Objectively, both states of fear are the same. Both fit their respective age: People of the Middle Ages held a certain belief in the spiritual world; therefore quite naturally they had a fear of spiritual beings. The modern age has lost this belief in the spiritual world; it believes in material things. It therefore has a fear of material beings, be they ever so small. Objectively speaking, the greatest difference we might find between the two periods is that ghosts are at any rate sizable and respectable. The tiny germs, on the other hand, are nothing much to write home about as far as frightening people is concerned. Now of course I do not mean to imply by this that we should encourage germs, and that it is good to have as many as possible. That is certainly not the implication. Still, germs certainly exist and ghosts existed also, especially as far as those people who held a real belief in the spiritual world are concerned. Thus, they do not even differ in terms of reality.However, the important point we want to make today is that germs can become dangerous only if they are allowed to flourish. Germs should not be allowed to flourish. Even materialists will agree with this statement, but they will no longer agree with us if we proceed further and, from the standpoint of proper spiritual science, speak about the most favorable conditions for germs. Germs flourish most intensively when we take nothing but materialistic thoughts into sleep with us. There is no better way to encourage them to flourish than to enter sleep with only materialistic ideas, and then to work from the spiritual world with the ego and the astral body on those organs that are not part of the blood and the nervous system. The only other method that is just as good is to live in the center of an epidemic or endemic illness and to think of nothing but the sickness all around, filled only with a fear of getting sick. That would be equally effective. If fear of the illness is the only thing created in such a place and one goes to sleep at night with that thought, it produces afterimages, Imaginations impregnated with fear. That is a good method of cultivating and nurturing germs. If this fear can be reduced even a little by, for example, active love and, while tending the sick, forgetting for a time that one might also be infected, the conditions are less favorable for the germs."

Goetheanum published following article by Georg Soldner: The Corona Virus.

Then from Buddhist perspective, Take a Mindful approach to Coronavirus by Christiane Wolf,

and Tricycle: Practicing in a Pandemic.

I am Nichiren Buddhist, but not part of any sect. However, following passage from the New Human Revolution by president Daisaku Ikeda of Soka Gakkai International, was encouraging to me:

The important thing is what you do from now. Are you going to be discouraged and allow yourselves to fall into despair? Or will you regard this as an opportunity to show actual proof of your faith and rise up again courageously, determined not to be beaten?Your inner resolve is what decides your happiness or unhappiness. Over the course of our lives, we are bound to face all kinds of adversity, not only natural disasters but things like bankruptcy, unemployment, illness, accidents and the deaths of loved ones. No life is ever perfectly smooth. In fact, life is an endless series of trials and tribulations, and it would be no exaggeration to say that facing difficulties is indeed what life is about. The question, then is, How do we remain unbeaten by these trials and adorn our lives with victory? Buddhism teaches the concept of transforming poison into medicine. According to this principle, we can change even the worst circumstances into benefit and happiness through faith. We need to be utterly confident of this… Unhappiness is not caused by adverse circumstances; it is caused by our own despair and negativityAnother important thing is to realize that the suffering you are experiencing now has a profound significance. If all of you who have been adversely affected by this natural disaster are able to splendidly rebuild your lives, you have turned poison into medicine and demonstrated the greatness of Nichiren Buddhism to society. That is the purpose of the struggle you are now encountering.

Also the letter by Nichiren Shonin living in solitude, while great plague was raging in Japan in 1279, is somehow encouraging to me; There is nothing new under the sky! He had to go through it in those days, when it was harder in many ways, and yet remained strong in spirit, so why wouldn't I. He was alone, but got help from his disciples - there's an example for all of us. 

For spiritual support at your own home: Silent Unity Virtual Prayer Vigil. You enter beautiful virtual chapel, with simple piano melody playing; It may help to create a mood to quiet down. The rest is up to you, and your innermost being, which can't be artificially substituted from outside. It's all the same if you were in Church.

See also: How to meditate?

Now it's a good time to look for online resources, books, movies, games, exercises, meditations, whatever. You can also interact with other people online. Personally, I don't necessarily miss any kind of interaction, besides my husband of course, but I understand more extroverted people may really undergo a hard time right now. 

Some of my favorite memes so far: