My prayer is that, though the fallout from Covid-19 is more than I want anyone to face, since we are forced into a cultural slowdown anyway, it will be a time of drawing close to our Savior. A time where we are unable to bury our spiritual pains in a flurry of activity. Most importantly, however, that we will then take those pains to our Heavenly Father, who can heal us with the balm of Gilead.
If it were not for the economic distress caused to people and families by so many businesses, schools, and events scaling back due to coronavirus, a cultural slowdown could have been a good thing—kind of like a well-needed sabbath.
Let us face it, we all move too fast, and technology has only heightened that over the past few decades. Now, I do not want to dismiss the sufferings that coronavirus is unleashing on the world. There will be deaths, some people will lose their homes and jobs, and it may take a while for us climb out of what we are facing. With that said, however, there may be a few benefits, and society may have a minute to catch its breath. Since it is happening anyway, maybe we can learn something from it.
Much of the activity we engage in is unnecessary and ultimately exhausting. We are a culture that has virtually lost the ability to pause and reflect. Most people are unable to stand in line at the grocery store without feeling a pang of inactivity that causes them to pick up their phones for relief. Our jobs never end because our email is always in our pocket, and even when we do have downtime, we feel the anxiety of the need to catch up on TV shows, movies, and events. The fear of missing out is a real thing and affects us more than we realize, and with all those options comes decision fatigue. We are an exhausted culture.
