On May 8, 1945, World War II in Europe came to an end. More civilians had died in this war than any other 
war in history. As the news of Germany’s surrender reached the rest of the world, joyous crowds gathered to celebrate in the streets, clutching newspapers that declared Victory in Europe (V-E Day). Bottles of champagne were uncorked, as men and women hugged and kissed in exuberant celebration. The war, which had led to unspeakable death and destruction, was over.
Now let us fast forward some hundred or more years to the 21st century, as the world is reeling from the effects of a global pandemic, which infected one hundred and seventy-seven million and resulted in four million deaths, including 600,000 in the United States of America, Quebec 11, 482 and Canada 28, 981
Poignant question: Is the pandemic over? Is it time to pop the champagne bottle and dance in the streets?
Seemingly, the scientific, political and medical community, has not definitively declared an end to the pandemic as a previous generation did so of the Second World War.
There are many who believe that if the pandemic is not over, it is at least in the rear-view mirror.
Notwithstanding, permit me to pose a greater question: Here is the greater question of us. Granted, these are two extraordinarily different mindsets but nevertheless equally important in terms of how we move forward.
Covid-19 struck many families with death, protracted sickness, loss of income and total devastation. Many, including this writer, felt the stinging reality of loss during the early dark days of the disease.
Many people were so emotionally impacted that the pandemic became a metaphor for grief, anxiety and heart-wrenching loss. Experts have even used the phrase “post-traumatic stress syndrome” (PTSD) in describing the effects of COVID-19 on the mental, psychological, and financial well-being of persons.
Therefore given the impact of the virus, the question I raise is certainly relevant. Simply due to the fact that if we do not find a solid ground spiritually, mentally and psychologically, we may find ourselves forever shackled by the experience from which we are slowly emerging. The fact of the matter is pandemics are nothing new, although it had not been seen in this magnitude in over a hundred years .
Plainly put, we must find the courage to move forward and rebuild our lives, our hope and our sense of direction.
The Good Book clearly speaks of how we are to regard our crises and challenges, and not to see them as surprising. The greater principle is determined though, not in being caught off guard by the occurrence of a pandemic, but rather in the quality of our spiritual resources when faced with challenge. It is what is in us that matters.
The pandemic may have bruised us, but it did not break us. It is important that both dimensions work together – that not only must we come out of the pandemic; but, above all more importantly, that the pandemic comes out of us – that we release our fears, and move toward the brand-new future evoked by the pandemic.
We must still exercise caution. Wear a mask. Vaccinate if you are comfortable.
However, the most important maxim is to release the trauma as we walk out of it and into a new destiny.
