Common Sense Ethics
  • Blog
  • About
  • My Books
  • Parenting Resources
  • Personal Growth Resources
  • Book Summaries
  • Contact Me

What Surviving Coronavirus Taught Me About Life and Death

6/12/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture
Jane Pauw, a 60-year-old pastor in Seattle, fell ill with coronavirus in March 2020. Pauw spoke of coronavirus as a darkness with a silver lining. Like Pauw, my family and I became sick with the coronavirus, and it was the most difficult thing that I have ever been through. (You can hear the story of my illness and recovery on Stoic Solutions Podcast, plus practical advice for if you get sick on my parenting blog.) Like Pauw, I also lived in a state of darkness as our illness and recovery dragged on and on. 

In Alchemy, this state of darkness or blackness is called Nigredo. It is a stage of development which symbolizes the dark night of the soul, the shadow, all of our fears and failures. But Nigredo also symbolizes the fecundity of the earth, the black soil's potential for growth and rebirth, and opportunity waiting to be seized. Going through the darkness, we become more conscious of ourselves and the world around us. 

Negative experiences contain tremendous potential for growth. They shake us out of our comfort zone, forcing us to confront out deepest fears so that we can emerge stronger and re-energized and face our future with more awareness and gratitude. Here is what surviving coronavirus has taught me about life and death:
​

Life

Nothing is guaranteed. It can seem like a certain number of years or a certain future is promised to us, that we are owed a series of tomorrows that are very much like today. And we may grieve if we don't get what we feel we is coming to us.  

Such grief proves that what came before, that what we experienced, was meaningful and cherished. Nothing lasts, but nothing is lost if we grew from it, if it taught us something. 

Life is short. In our youth we can never quite bring ourselves to believe it. But approaching middle age, we are forced to dispense with the heroic thinking that characterizes young adulthood as we understand that we may not yet realize every one of our dreams. There just isn't time to do it all. Our time and attention is priceless, and we must be mindful of where and how we spend it. We must prioritize what is most important. 

When we prioritize what is most important, we are invited to turn within and work on ourselves, and to stop expecting so much of the world. After all, the world is out of our control. But we can change ourselves, we can grow into the fullness of what we are meant to be - the best version of ourselves - doing good by ourselves and by others. 


Death

One of my favorite philosophers, Roger Scruton, died of cancer earlier this year. Before he passed, Scruton wrote last December, “Coming close to death, you begin to know what life means, and what it means is gratitude.”

​Illness makes us reflect on our own aging process, our mortality. We are confronted with a grim awareness of time and finality. But being mindful of our eventual death, or Memento Mori, is the greatest motivator for us to do our best today and not put things off for the future. You never know what could happen. That future could never come.

Facing death forces us to reflect on our past conduct and imagine how we can improve ourselves in the time that is left to us. Doing out best means being as virtuous as we can be today. So long as we live, we still have time to work on ourselves, to improve our character, which will eventually be our legacy.  

So, as Scruton says, be grateful. Be grateful for today. Be grateful for peace. For knowledge. For love. For all the little things that make for a lifetime of growth and fulfillment. 

~

Read Next:
Hope, Courage and Grattitude During Covid-19
Would You Risk Your Life For Philosophy?
7 Common End Of Life Regrets And How to Avoid Having Them
Picture
2 Comments
Rosser link
3/6/2025 06:15:17 pm

Your profound reflections on surviving COVID-19 offer invaluable insights into the fragility and preciousness of life. By drawing parallels between personal experiences and philosophical concepts like Alchemy's Nigredo, you highlight the potential for growth amidst adversity. Your emphasis on gratitude, self-improvement, and the transient nature of existence serves as a poignant reminder to cherish each moment and strive for personal betterment. Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal and enlightening perspective.

Reply
Leah
5/1/2025 10:17:01 am

Thank you Rosser.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Don't Miss A Post!

    Sign up to receive updates and special announcements!

    Thank You For Subscribing to Common Sense Ethics!

    You have successfully joined my email list. 

    .
    Picture

    About Me:

    Thank you for your interest in Common Sense Ethics! I'm Leah, a librarian and freelance editor with a background in history and philosophy.
    ​

    Most Popular Blog Posts:

    3 Unpopular (But Likely Correct) Opinions According to Cicero

    Beauty in Philosophy, Ethics and Art: A Conversation with David Fideler

    5 Ways to Counterbalance an Ugly and Barren Cultural Landscape

    How Propaganda Makes us Psychologically Totalitarian

    5 Things That You Need to be Happy According to Cicero

    5 Wholesome Character Education Books to Read to Your Child

    Why is Politics so Divisive?

    9 Great Critical Thinking Books for Children and Teens

    Why You Should Create Your Own Culture to Be Happier

    How to Make Yourself Immune to Propaganda

    ​The 10 Best Philosophy Books For Beginners

    The 13 Types of Modern Stoics...Which One Are You?

    How to be a Badass According to Cicero

    Quick Guide: Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics in Modern Life

    Download My Stoic Printables For Tough Days:

    Picture

    Watch Common Sense Ethics On YouTube:


    Support CSE:

    Picture
    Picture
    Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com


    Topics:

    All
    According To Cicero Series
    Aesthetics
    Alasdair Macintyre
    Albert Einstein
    American Revolution
    Ancient Greece
    Ancient Rome
    Anger
    Antiauthoritarianism
    Applied Philosophy
    Aristotle
    Assertiveness
    Beauty
    Book Reviews
    Books And Reading
    Buddhism
    Carl Jung
    Cause And Effect
    Character Flaws
    Cicero
    Classical Education
    Cognitive Bias
    Consequence Based Ethics
    Consumerism
    Cosmology
    Covert Manipulation
    Critical Thinking
    Culture
    Cynicism
    Death
    Descartes
    Destructive Behavior
    Economics
    Edmund Burke
    Education
    Egalitarianism
    Emotions
    Epictetus
    Ethical Objectivism
    Family
    Fortitude
    Francis-bacon
    Freedom
    Freedom Of Speech
    Free Speech
    George-r-r-martin
    George-r-r-martin
    God
    Golden Rule
    Good Character
    Government
    Gratitude
    Happiness
    Heraclitus
    History
    Immanuel Kant
    Individual Rights
    Information Literacy
    Inner Life
    Integrity
    Introspection
    Intuition
    Iron Law Of Oligarchy
    Jaques Ellul
    John Locke
    John Sellars
    John Stuart Mill
    Jules Evans
    Karma
    Left-right Brain Balance
    Left-right Political Spectrum
    Liberal Democracy
    Literature
    Logic
    Marcus Aurelius
    Marriage
    Marx
    Mastering Emotion
    Media
    Metaethics
    Mindfullness
    Moderation/temperance
    Modern Stoicism
    Moral Relativism
    Moral Universalism
    Mortality
    Movies
    Musonius Rufus
    Musonius-rufus
    Natural Law
    Natural Rights
    Natural World
    Negative Freedom
    Negative-rights
    Neoplatonism
    Non Aggression
    Normative Ethics
    Normative-ethics
    Objectivismsubjectivism
    Oligarchy
    Parenting
    Personal Development
    Philosophy For Beginners
    Pierre Hadot
    Plato
    Politics
    Propaganda
    Psychology
    Pythagoreanism
    Relaxed Mental State
    Renaissance
    Responsibility
    Rhetoric
    Right Vs. Wrong Actions
    Robert Nozik
    Roger Scruton
    Self Defense
    Self Discipline
    Seneca
    Sexuality
    Simple Living
    Socrates
    Socratic Method
    Stoicism
    Stoic Meditation
    Stoic Virtues
    Television
    The Shadow
    Thomas Hobbes
    Traditionalism
    Trivium
    Utilitarianism
    Videos
    Violence
    Virtue Ethics
    War

    Archives:

    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013


    ​Book of the Month: Journal Like a Stoic by Brittany Polat

    Picture


    ​Personal Growth Resources:

    Picture
    Use this in-depth questionnaire to learn more about your faults and subconscious motivations.


    Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics In Modern Life:

    Picture


    ​Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

    Picture


    ​Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group:

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.