What We Gained During Lent

If you grew up Catholic, you know about the religious tradition of giving something up for Lent, the six-week period of sobre contemplation and repentance, which ends Easter Sunday. In those long weeks between Mardi Gras and Easter, people often ask each other, "what did you give up for Lent?" The answer is usually chocolate, carbs, or alcohol.

This year, the answer heard around the world, in Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, and Atheist homes, is, everything. We universally gave up everything, from our freedom to travel, to our joy in holding our loved ones. From the right to have a neighbourhood block party, to attending a rock concert. Thousands have given up their lives. The World Health Organization reports that 99,887 people are confirmed to have died from the COVID-19 virus.

Even for those who are not among the 1,614,951 confirmed cases of COVID-19, there has been heartbreak. Life's BMD milestones - births, marriages and deaths - have all been touched by the pandemic. Weddings and honeymoons have been cancelled. Funerals are being held via Zoom, or not at all. Those who have lost a loved one in these times, are grieving alone, without comforting hugs, and a hand to hold. Friends of mine just had their first baby, born prematurely in this time of crisis. While both the mother and baby were kept in hospital for weeks, the young father was not allowed to be with them. Like a soldier at war, he could only look at pictures, and long for the day when he could hold his wife and baby in his arms. Many of my friends have a parent or parents in care homes, and are unable to visit with them. A lucky few, are able to communicate with each other through a window. We have given up so much.

We have also gained. We have gained our humanity, gratitude, deep appreciation for human connection, and above all, our love for one another. The pandemic has forced the most social of creatures - human beings - to self isolate for the good of all. We are witnessing a universal act of caring humanity. 

Nightly, in my own city of Vancouver, residents step out onto balconies and porches to loudly clap, cheer, and bang on pots, to show their heartfelt, and sincere gratitude to the frontline healthcare workers for their courage and dedication. Gratitude is also expressed in simple words of thanks, to store clerks, and security guards in grocery stores and pharmacies, who put themselves on the line, so that the rest of us can eat, and take our medication. There is also a deep gratitude for our health, and - in Canada - our healthcare system. In this country, our Federal and Provincial governments have all stepped up to provide funding for those who are out of work, and struggling to pay for food or shelter. No matter what our politics, Canadians, who've had cause for cynicism in recent years, have gained an appreciation for the good which governments can do.

More than anything, there's a sense of how important connectedness is to our wellbeing - to our very souls. We are social beings, who are meant to be with one another. The experience is giving us a sense of the loneliness and isolation felt by elderly people, and marginalized people. That empathy may give way to greater caring in the future.

Unable to physically be together, people are reaching out to connect online, and by phone. It's been wonderful to speak with people I haven't spoken with in a long time. How many of us have learned to use Zoom in the past few weeks? How many are telling friends and family that they are loved? No one is taking life for granted. There's been a transformation in our lives.

Blessings this Easter, for your health and wellbeing. May your life be richer for this experience.
I love you.

Photographs Copyright of: Ruth Adams Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.