Fear is the main emotion that is driving America right now. Fear of the unknown, fear of the disease that has a 98.5% SURVIVAL rate. Those are better odds than the risk we take everyday driving on the freeway. Fear is worse than the pandemic that is the reason for causing the fear. Fear causes needless anxiety and worry and depression when we can't decrease the fear. We look for answers, follow the rules, and sit in our homes isolated, scared, and alone.
Recently I went for a walk in my neighborhood and was surprised by what I saw. Young families were taking their kids for walks, riding bicycles, and enjoying the sunshine. As they approached me, I said, "Hello" and they looked at the ground, ignored my comment, and made a birth of about fifteen feet and avoided me like the plague. It was so sad to me that social distancing has created barriers to even being kind to one another. Going to the grocery store is like visiting a morgue. There is plenty of room to shop inside the store as crowded lines of people wait outside in order to keep their distance while in the store.
Does social distancing mean we have to be rude to each other? Why can’t we say "hello" or have a conversation even if we are 6 feet apart? Does social distancing mean we have to isolate in separate rooms of the house? Does it mean neighbors can't be neighborly? There is no law (yet) that says a neighbor can't speak to a neighbor, or a friend can't check in on a friend. Yes, be respectful not to make anyone uncomfortable, but bring comfort whenever you can. We can still smile, laugh, and even sing even while keeping our distance. By our acts of kindness, we can bring comfort to others who are fearful, isolated, and alone.
"When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement
to go and sympathize with him and comfort him."
Job 2:11 (NIV)