Covid-19 Initial Shock

A virus is born and suddenly the world stops! The world as we knew is no longer and the word “safe” is taking on a new meaning, at least for me. What does it mean to be safe? I used to feel safe in a lot of situations such as being outside my home, on the streets, in the parks, at grocery stores, in movie theatres, in concert halls, travelling to close and remote places, interacting with passersby, shopping in the malls, running errands and socializing occasionally; I also used to feel safe at work, in my studio teaching my very talented and eager students, interacting with them and their parents, sitting very close to them at the piano while demonstrating techniques, movements and manners, giving them a pat on the back when they deserved it and giving them a hug every now and then when they needed it. But all that feels no longer "safe": I no longer feel safe in any of those situations and am beginning to wonder if I took all those liberties or better say “privileges” for granted! The word “privilege” never came to mind before as I took all I would or could do in any given day as a given, a right that can never be threatened to be taken away! But GOOD LORD, how wrong must I have been! I was foolishly thinking nothing could ever threaten my freedom, peace, and my existence, at least not after I moved to Canada, a country where its citizens are known to live in peace and harmony and where privileges are rights not needing to fight for! Today, the invisible enemy threatening all that was once so enjoyed has made its grand entrance and left its mark on every inch of the world that has travelled to or come into contact with claiming over one hundred thousand lives and leaving injured hundreds of thousands more on its path. Never before have I felt so unsafe and powerless in my life not knowing if I or any of my loved ones will be its next victim. But, at the same time, I can’t help but ask myself: Why? Why did it happen? Whose fault is this? Could it have been prevented? Did our ways of life, I mean our “human” ways of life have anything to do with it? Was it greed? Was it mankind’s absolute disregard for the planet, environment & wild life? Was it our arrogance, self-righteousness, self-entitlement, or disregard for anything and everything non-human? Or was it our lack of collective actions to help root out the injustices we as humans used to see surrounding us in this world like poverty, discrimination, hunger & human rights violations that brought this now upon us making us feel weak, scared, humbled & vulnerable looking for a second chance at normal life? I am not sure about you, but I am not a religious person, yet strongly believe that all of our shenanigans have had something to do with this, bringing us to our knees!