Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
To See Things in a Calmer Vein
You can pretty much find anything you want on the internet, on YouTube especially, that one can find all kinds of ‘experts’ giving their take on just about any subject. With Covid it is no different. Way too much information, it is becoming a true tower of Babel. A good catchword today is ‘confirmation Bias’, something that I know I do suffer from.
I got the vaccine because I thought it will protect me, but most importantly others as well. Being part of a community the last thing I would want to do is to infect anyone else. So if those who say that taking the vaccine will eventually kill me, well I still did my best. All any of us can do is to look into our hearts, get information, and go with it.
Growing up in Panama, you get used to having ‘shots’ to protect you from Yellow Fever, Malaria, and Typhoid fever, and Lord knows what else. Then there is the Polio Vaccine that I can remember getting when it first came out, I was in the first grade. They are all helpful. With Covid, there is a lot of controversies.
I have friends who will not get the vaccine. They are not belligerent, when they go out they wear masks and believe that the pandemic is real and dangerous. I respect them, even if I do not agree. They are thoughtful and caring people.
There are others who take a different approach, and I really do not know what to make of them. Some of us are wrong in what we are doing. It could be me, or my friends who refuse the vaccine. It is best not to argue, and perhaps not even discuss the subject. For today there are so many touchy subjects that really should be avoided since a calm dialog can often be difficult, if not impossible.
I have a doctor friend in New Orleans. He told me that the hospitals are full of Covid patients, most of them unvaccinated and it is frustrating for those who take care of them. Many of them die, and it is not a pleasant way to leave this world. It saddens me that there is so much suffering at this time, and we need to draw together, not fight. The loss of human life is tragic, since each death affects many people who love them.
I feel that Covid is closing in. The community has lost a few friends. Two Doctors among them, who were very close to many of the monks in the community. Good, caring doctors. Yes it was Covid. We are hearing of our friends who are losing relatives to covid. Again most of them were unvaccinated. There are of course breakthrough cases where death happens.
Yes, being vaccinated is not absolute when it comes to Covid. If it were to get into our community, with a high portion of elderly, me being one of them, I have no doubt our numbers could lessen even with the vaccines, but I still feel that we have more protection with the vaccine, and if we get sick our chances of survival are higher.
Some people can’t get vaccinated. Caregivers of elderly family members fear getting vaccinated because they are fearful that if they get sick, who will take care of their elderly loved ones? A very painful, fearful position to be in.
I have no idea what I am saying. However, knowing that people chose one road or another, often after deep thought, does help me to see things in a calmer vein. Knowing that saves me a lot of aggravation. Really, do we need more of that, aggravation? It is becoming a national pastime.
It is the caregivers that I worry about, the burden they are carrying in those areas where the pandemic surge is high must be overwhelming. They need our prayers and support. No one of us knows where this is going, so deepen your spiritual life, and get the strength to get through this in a loving compassionate manner. We are all suffering, let’s not add to the load. I am working on that, not always successful, be still working on it.-Br.MD