How to Show Compassion During the Coronavirus Pandemic
With the rapid spread of the coronavirus, many of us have changed our behavior and are practicing self-isolation in order to slow the spread of what is now being considered a global pandemic. Perhaps you’ve already made your store run and have the privilege of staying in the comfort of your own home unless leaving the house is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, there are many people in the world who do not have the option to be socially distant.
It is really important show compassion towards our neighbors who work in hospitals, grocery stores and other professions that don’t allow them to practice social distancing. What I love about the idea of practicing compassion is that the word literally means “to suffer together”. At our core, we are all the same and getting through this will take a collective effort.
This invisible virus is a great reminder that we are all impacted and interdependent. Suffering together not only means that we are all negatively impacted by this pandemic, but it also means that we all have a responsibility to care for and look after one another.
As a Christian, compassion should be a part of my style (Colossians 3:12). Compassion is an attribute of God that we have the opportunity to show to others through the fabric of our lives (Philippians 2:1-3).
Showing compassion means that our behavior reflects a sense of empathy for those who are suffering. That means that even if you are a healthy young person who might not be affected by the virus, you still practice social distancing in order to help protect members of your community who are high-risk. Understand that your behavior has an impact not only on your wellbeing but also on the wellbeing of your community. You are just a few points of contact away from a high risk person.
If you are reading this, I imagine that you have a sense of compassion and are already exhibiting behaviors of a responsible citizen by practicing social distancing. You might be wondering what more you can do to help your neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are just a few ways that you can be a good neighbor during this tough time:
1) Be a Good Neighbor
If you live in a community and you know someone who is at risk, reach out to see if there is a way for you to help by running errands or dropping off essentials to their doorstep. A lot of elderly folks are fearful of leaving their home to get the things they need during this uncertain time.
2) Stay in Touch from afar
Check in on your friends and loved ones (especially the ones with kids). Give them a call or FaceTime them. Maybe resurrect your Words With Friends account. It’s important that we don’t lose our connections during this period of isolation. There are so many ways that we can be alone, together
3) Support Your Local Hospital and Grocery Store employees
These are the individuals who don’t have the luxury to work from home or distance themselves from the community. Their work is essential to the health of our communities. Many of these people are working long hours to keep up with the increase in demand. We can support them by being kind and gracious during our interactions with them. We can also provide them with practical resources to help them get through this time. If you know someone personally who works in these areas, reach out to them directly to see what they need and how you can help.
These are just a few ways that we can express our compassion towards others in our community. When we choose to be kind and compassionate towards others, it positively impacts the overall health of our community and at the end of the day we’re all just trying to do our part to help keep our community safe and healthy.
My team and I are working to put together care packages for healthcare workers who are working overtime. A lot of the women in our organization work in hospitals and made suggestions on what to include in these care packages and they have also volunteered to distribute the care packages in a responsible manner.
Some of the items we’ll be including in these care packages are Energy Fizz Sticks, hand lotion, protein bars, deodorant, protein packs and fit chews for snacking. If you would like to donate to help provide a care package, please send your donation to my Venmo @Anisa-Pruitt.