The impact of COVID-19 is not equally felt across society. As is often the case, the poor and the most vulnerable in America and around the world experience the most suffering.
Hourly workers engaged in the hospitality industry or in food services have been hit hard. The homeless, the elderly and those dependent on social services or charitable organizations are struggling.
As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell put it, “The burden of this crisis has fallen most heavily on those least able to bear it.”
And yet, humanity’s urge to nurse those wounds — to physically console the heartbroken and anguished — also has fallen prey to the virus.
But that impulse to literally reach out to another is hard to surrender; it’s a craving deeply rooted in each person. As Deseret News reporter Lois Collins powerfully articulates, “Touch is perhaps the first sense humans develop, before a baby’s even fully formed. Fetal photographs often show busy, tiny hands and feet exploring what’s in reach.”
Given that social connection and physical interaction can lower levels of stress and deaden pain, one need not imagine the detrimental effect social distancing has on society’s well-being right now. One-third of Americans have reported “high” levels of distress during the coronavirus outbreak, according to Pew Research Center. That percentage increases in counties with high numbers of COVID-19 deaths — the same places where especially strict mandates to stay at home likely exist.
The expert advice to isolate, however necessary, presents a sad irony for vulnerable populations: The elderly and those with chronic health conditions are those most likely to isolate alone. They also are those who need human interaction the most.
Finding ways to connect with them should be everyone’s responsibility.
Pause to sincerely feel compassion for others; it only takes a few moments a day. Make eye contact while passing others on the street. Pay attention to people. Laugh.
Each day, we’re filled with gratitude for citizens everywhere who are proving the depth of their compassion, whether by hosting a drive-by graduation, holding a virtual birthday party, sewing millions of masks or choosing to pass on a stimulus check to someone in need.
Many have witnessed sidewalk concerts, online singalongs, digital worship services and story time over Zoom. Each of these moments, however small, lifts spirits and distributes hope.
Compassion carries a potent, rejuvenating power. It is the essence of what makes humans beings divine. It isn’t simply putting yourself in another’s shoes; it materializes when one sees the infinite worth of another and shoulders their suffering.
Every individual can feel, share and reap the benefits of the ennobling, enlightening and empowering effects of compassion. It just takes time and attention.
The past several years have been filled with divisive rhetoric, dire predictions and discouraging societal trends. Now, the coronavirus pandemic adds disconnection to the mix, making it essential that people everywhere have, show and share true compassion — even it if it is delivered 6 feet apart.