1.
If you still think that Coronavirus is a joke, think twice.
Coded “COVID-19”, this novel coronavirus, first reported in Wuhan China, has literally brought the whole world down. My children asked me, is this worse than 911? The answer is an absolute yes!
Now, we all have to face the uncomfortable question: how can I survive the COVID-19 when,
School is closed
Office is closed
Can’t get tested
Can’t travel
Shelves are empty
No sports to watch
… …
The world is changing around us, right in front of us.
Millions of people are going to have to “hunker down”, because this is NOT “business as usual”, said Dr. Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.
2.
If the COVID-19 global pandemic is the only disaster you have known, then it is easy to lose perspective and the future just became so much dimmer.
Yes, even it is worse than 911, is it worse than being captured and kept in Auschwitz concentration camp?
How about when a plane crashed, fell down from the sky, without food and water for 47 days?
Or was stuck 2300 feet underground, with water and food only good for three days?
Of course not! And you know whom I am talking about.
Viktor Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and he not only survived Holocaust, but developed his theory of “healing through meaning”, known as logotherapy, while a prisoner in the concentration camps. He counselled his fellow prisoners, many of whom were suicidal. Thanks to him and his time in the camp, now we have a philosophy that gives life a meaning.
Louis Zamperini was an Olympic distance runner and an American World War II veteran. He not only survived a plane crash, 47 days’ floating on the Pacific Ocean without food and water, two years of brutal torture as a prisoner, and alcohol addiction post war, but became a Christian Evangelist and devoted himself to at-risk youth. Zamperini is the subject of three biographical films and his story inspired millions of people until this day.
Jose Henriquez was a drill master working deep in one of Chile’s infamous copper mines. Jose and his fellow 33 workers were kept underground for 69 days with very little food and water. He became the group’s unofficial “pastor”, conducting daily prayer sessions and bolstering spirit during the darkest moments. Eventually he saved himself and all of his friends from the darkness.
3.
What you can learn from Viktor, Louis and Jose is this:
People who survived war, concentration camp and other extreme conditions were not necessarily the strongest physically, but they must be the strongest spiritually. They were the leaders, warriors and fighters. No matter what the situation threw at them, they just kept fighting, because there was that hope deeply inside them.
So how can you survive? By holding onto this great hope:
That this too shall pass, just as many trials and tribulations before it.
That there is light in the tunnel, no matter how dark it seems right now.
That the beauty, kindness and love will triumph over any ugliness, injustice and wickedness.
That there is a creator who is still in control and He loves us and has the best plan for us.
4.
Today I started a pledge, by running toward a goal of a total 201.9 miles, until the end of COVID-19.
If I finish before it ends, I will just restart it again, just as Louis recounted his mother’s recipe again and again while he was literally starved to death.
If I have to, I will run towards a total of 2019 miles. Or another 2019 miles after that.
Today, I asked you to join me, to hold on this great hope, to do something you are passionate about, until the end of COVID-19.
If you are a runner, join me to run 201.9 miles or kilometers.
If you are a reader, join me to read 19 or 20 books.
If you are a write, join me to write 19 or 20 articles.
If you are an artist, join me to draw 19 or 20 pictures.
If you are a believer, join me to pray 2019 prayers.
If you are a student, join me to memorize 2019 words.
If you are a parent, join me to spend 2019 minutes with your children who are stuck at home, without looking at your phone.
You get my idea. There are so many possibilities. Your creativity, initiative and courage can’t be limited by any physical boundaries.
Join me today.
Do it now.