What to Do while “Waiting for Coro”
COMPREHENSIVE pandemic preparation advice, from the practical and medical (precautions, immune support) to the communal/political to the emotional, spiritual, and evolutionary—how can we come out of this with not just grief and wreckage but transformation?
Stephen Dinan’s hard information is very sound (I know, because I’ve been boning up myself), and very thorough, and very urgent.
These are not overreactions but necessary given the risks of delay. Every day will see more.
Expect all the social distancing practices to come to every town fast, from quarantines to bans on public meetings, all virtual work for companies, cancellation of schools, universities and more. Basically, we’re going to have to grind much of our social interaction to a halt almost immediately in order to slow the spread enough to prevent catastrophic overwhelm of the medical system in particular. That will also help us to catch up with the urgent needs for testing.
To be part of the solution, the time for you to do this is NOW.
Without massive, rapid intervention, we will escalate to a very high pandemic peak that might be 5–10x or more of medical patients our system can handle leading a much higher percentage to die. Globally, that could mean 50M additional deaths if we peak fast vs. peak slower.
But when all that is said and, hopefully, done, there is more:
- A list of instructions for “social distancing”
- A list of logistical steps to take (such as what to stock up on)
- Steps to “prepare your emotional and community support network” to take care of yourself and each other, especially the most vulnerable
- Basic recommendations for self-care: how to “optimize your own psychological and physical health to boost your immunity and your resilience. You want to enter this window as strong as possible.” This step includes “Double down on your spiritual practices” and “Work with fears as they arise but don’t let them overwhelm you.”
- A list of ways to use the time cooped up at home creatively. As the thousand distractions we’re hooked on fall away, his can be an opportunity to focus and contemplate.
- A list of desperately needed ways this crisis can change our everyday way of living for the better even after it is over, including more virtual work, more-local food and other production, creation and strengthening of local networks, “shift from over-consumption to a more experiential and relational life,” and “focus on what unites us rather than what divides us,” including “cross-generational collaboration.” Irrepressible entrepreneurs and inventors will come up with new organizations and new tools.
So, yes, it’s long (long reads are about to become a Thing!), and yes, if you are so minded, I do recommend you read it.
Ambiance 
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