You can't quarantine joy

Several days ago, while watching the endless news about coronavirus I heard a newscaster say something that has stuck with me, "You can't quarantine tears".

As I thought about this, even when trying to go to sleep and find some semblance of rest during these challenging times, the words kept playing over and over again in my head, "You can't quarantine tears". He was absolutely right, you can't.

We can't quarantine suffering either. Never have and probably never will. We can't quarantine fear. Fear mainly of the unknown which is far greater than fear of the known. Fear of the known we can see more clearly, put boundaries around, perhaps contain to some degree. But fear of the unknown has an unlimited projectile. It can go on in endless ways and directions. Places that only our unlimited imagination can invent or conceive.

However, the more I thought about these words I realized if we can't quarantine any of these frightening things, then certainly we can't quarantine some of the more positive behaviors as well. We can't quarantine hope. We can't quarantine kindness. We can't quarantine love. We can't quarantine courage. And, just as important, we can't quarantine joy. So often we say to ourselves once this virus situation is over, I can go back to being happy, to being joyful. Yet, that is not how the world works. We must choose these behaviors just as we must choose to contain the scary ones. Practicing joy is an exercise in gratitude. Wake up each morning and see a beautiful sunrise. Being greeted by two overjoyed, four-legged children whose exuberance in seeing you almost drops you to the ground by their seventy pounds of pure energy, they emulate joyfulness at its fullest. Getting a phone call or text from a family member or friend to remind us that someone is thinking about us each day, is joy. Seeing the first signs of spring; green sprouts of grass, daffodils, budding trees. These are all signs of hope, of new beginnings, of joy.

Just as it is true that we can't quarantine all the horrible things that occur some days, we can't quarantine the good either. Yet, quarantining the good, the joy, the hope, the kindness; these take more effort and conscious thought. Just as there was a beginning of this coronavirus, there will eventually be an end. There will be a new beginning where people can gather without fear. Where families and loved ones can hug each other with even more joy and gratitude than ever before because we don't take for granted what was given to us each and every day. This new beginning will offer us greater gratitude in our work, in being able to do something, anything other than sitting at home, sometimes alone and scared. This new beginning will show us how much we took for granted in the past without ever noticing the gifts right in front of us. As we go forward each day, remember not what we have lost–at least for the time being–but what we have always had and hopefully will have again. Remember to practice hope, kindness, courage, love, and compassion. Remember, if we choose, we can't quarantine any of these behaviors and we won't quarantine joy.