It could be our finest hour…when we respond to the sadness, fear and unpredictability of what is happening in the world right now with love, patience and kindness.

Or, it can be a time of paranoia, anger and lack of concern for others.

Amazing what a virus can do. Take a world full of people and turn them upside down. Laugh in the face of our superior technology, mega-malls and endless gluttony. Remind us we aren’t in charge of anything. Render us helpless.

Maybe Nature has had enough of floating garbage in the oceans, rolled-back air pollution standards, drilling on sacred indigenous lands, and the cavalier attitude so many take towards natural resources.

Have you heard….the earth is actually flourishing without us stomping all over it these days. I’m not surprised.

A little less violence and narcissism would do wonders for us all. I for one am a little tired of being reminded about how “great” things were.

There’s never been anything “great” about acting as though only we matter. There’s nothing “great” about arrogance, ignorance and lack of empathy. There’s certainly nothing “great” about ignoring science, facts and the truth, and creating a false reality that serves only your desires.

Quite frankly, it’s stupid. Destructive. Dangerous. (Yes, that’s a personal opinion. This is a blog. If you disagree, you can write your own.)

Generations around the world have been through tough challenges before. Wars, poverty, disease, persecution. Nuclear weapons. Airliners hitting skyscrapers. Concentration camps and mass graves. Always, the world did its best afterward to rebuild, heal, and rethink a new future.

We could do that. We could reach inside and find the strength and spirit to help pull us through the darkness. We could explore new sources of energy. New ways of doing business. New approaches to health and wellness. We could wear our masks in public and respect one another.

But it’s going to take patience—and working together.

So maybe you can’t go to the movies for a while. That haircut might have to wait. Really wanted to go to the lake this summer? Well, maybe next time.

Why? Because maybe doing those things could cause someone else to die. And maybe doing those things could cause you to die.

Staying home is hard. But isn’t knowing so many people are dying hard?

It’s time to be smarter. More patient. More loving. Turn off the propaganda and listen to the doctors. The nurses who are working 24 hour shifts. The researchers who are cautioning everyone to be careful.

I just don’t understand how anything else could be more important than coming together as one to solve this crisis, instead of spreading false emails about which country or culture is to blame for everything. Supporting divisive arguments that ultimately devastate those struggling to find food or pay their rent. Or using the oval office to tweet raging messages filled with insults like a four-year-old on a playground.

Our nation needs a national day of mourning, healing, reflection. It does not need an egomaniac spewing hostility and bragging about good ratings.

In the midst of the terrifying death counts, there is something to be grateful for. And for me, that would be everyone who is on the front lines of this crisis. Those who raise, grow, stock, deliver and sell food. Emergency responders, police, firefighters, EMTs, ambulance drivers, bus drivers, delivery people, doctors, nurses, and anyone else putting on a mask and going to work to help others.

I’m grateful for Dr. Tony Fauci for tirelessly contributing intelligence and reality. For Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always ready to offer information and guidance. For New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his honesty, compassion and common sense and his willingness to stand firm in the midst of the noise. I also am grateful for experienced, ethical, hard-working, and responsible journalists who endure gaseous and unseemly insults regularly from an empty suit.

These times are hard. It’s okay to be exhausted, sad, frustrated and even desperate at times. It’s also okay to find moments of joy during the day. Laugh at a joke. Tease a friend online about her unruly hair.

But I confess I do not understand how anyone can think it’s okay to incite violence over the freedom to go bowling when so many are fighting for their lives.

One day, our scientists and physicians will find a way through this for all of us. Let’s hope we emerge as better people, in a cleaner world, with a lot more empathy for each other—especially those who aren’t carbon copies of us.

Isn’t that what those who claim to follow a higher power are called to do?

“We rise by lifting others.” Robert Ingersol

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” Abraham Lincoln

“It is amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.” Harry S Truman