If you asked me to, I don’t think I could say with honesty that I’ve made many attempts to truly be mindful about my emotions and perspective. Avoidance is one of my best-honed coping skills and despite the handful of medical professionals who would argue otherwise, it’s always worked pretty well for me. That is, until now. There is no running from or avoiding what’s happening in our world and any attempts on my part to do so would further isolate me from the things and people I need most. I know the taunts of anxiety by heart but that cannot protect me any further; I must now begin to save myself. Roxanne Hawn, an interviewee on mental health during crises, states “I always said that being anxious makes me exceptional in an emergency, because I’m used to functioning while feeling like this when others aren’t” (Nelson). This being my original take on the situation at hand as well, Hawn, like I, soon realized this mindset is only effective in isolated incidences and does not benefit one during an ongoing pandemic (Nelson). We cannot continue on as before.
While ignorance is often bliss, sometimes the shock of reality and an insight as to how bad things can get provides a much needed opportunity to see beyond our own small bubbles of existence. Meditation instructor Tara Brach captures this phenomenon in her quote, “When things fall apart, it’s a really horrible time… but it’s also an opportunity for us to wake up our hearts in an unprecedented way” (Samuel). This pandemic has allowed for humanity as a whole to empathize with one another and move into a mindset of awareness and presentness. Accepting the reality of the situation and fully embracing our emotions is key to not only surviving but thriving in the current state of the world (Coping).
Moving forward, we should all carry this newfound mindfulness with us and approach day to day life knowing we have not only overcome suffering and doubt but walked through it face-first with our heads held high. There will be bad days. There will be worse days. But there is always good to be found. We cannot live our lives so in fear of failure and hurt that we avoid the beauty hidden in between these moments of hardship. I know that now. It is all we can do to simply put our best foot forward and not lie to ourselves about the state of things, but rather learn the strength behind adversity in the face of the truth. In the familiar words of a little book known as the Bible, “the truth will set you free,” and so it shall from this moment on (The Holy Bible, John 8:31-32).
Works Cited
Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Sept. 2019, emergency.cdc.gov/coping/selfcare.asp.
Nelson, Jennifer. “Coping With Mental Health Issues During the Coronavirus Crisis.” Next Avenue, 31 Mar. 2020, http://www.nextavenue.org/coping-mental-health-coronavirus/.
Samuel, Sigal. “‘Our Calm Is Contagious’: How to Use Mindfulness in a Pandemic.” Vox, 18 Mar. 2020, www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/18/21181644/coronavirus-covid-19-mindfulness-meditation-anxiety.
The Holy Bible. King James Version, 1976.
ENGL110 Spring 2020 11:15-12:05 
Analyzing yourself and your own emotions is very hard for many people but you did a very good job in doing so in the first paragraph and using it to set the stage for your entire piece. The first sentence of your second paragraph is also very strong and perfectly sets up how we, as a society, are starting to accept the magnitude of this situation. This was very well written.
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I really enjoyed this piece. Your focus on mental health and how important it is in our daily live really speaks great volume. I liked how told us how this quarantine helped you change your focus and realize that we need to find the good when things are bad. I enjoyed your last paragraph where you said that after this is over, we will have a newfound perspective on life because of the suffering we were put through during this time.
– Tommy Wilcox
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I felt very inspired by this piece, and it was unlike anything I’ve read. First of all, my mom always tells me to “be mindful” in any unexpected or perhaps frightening experience. I agree with you and feel that there is no better time than now to be mindful. I think we should all try to turn our anxiety into mindfulness in order to help us cope with this bizarre reality. Running away from the harsh truth won’t do us any good. This was a wonderful message.
-Michael Muscato
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I really love this piece. For me, it really spoke to how I’ve been feeling during this whole experience. I’ve had moments of avoidance, But I also have had moments I chose to focus on what I was feeling and why I was feeling it. I also think it was neat that you used a verse from the bible in this context. Typically, someone uses that verse to encourage people to tell the truth when they’ve been lying, but like many things in the bible, it can have several meanings. I like how you used it in this context to mean the truth about how we are all feeling. That it is important to not just avoid our thoughts but to acknowledge them and use them to make us better in the future.
– Brianna O’Doherty
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