Life, as we knew it just weeks ago, is collapsing all around us.

Events are being canceled and postponed around the globe to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 5,000 people and infected more than 144,000 as of mid-March, including 42 deaths reported in the US. Schools, Broadway shows, sports events (e.g., professional and college basketball championship playoffs, Major League baseball season, Premier Soccer League) and countless other social gatherings have been closed, suspended or postponed. Our financial markets are in a free fall.

The travel industry is in complete overwhelm. I was on hold for over an hour when I tried to call American Airlines to cancel our tickets to go to New York to see “To Kill a Mockingbird.” And when I try calling Expedia, their automated answering system tells me that their systems are down — just before hanging up on me over and over again.

I sense profound fear all around me. Even my neighbors are staying away from each other after cancelling our annual community Spring Party. I understand. I, too, feel the weight of all of the risks and uncertainties that surround me.

The really hard part is that there just doesn’t seem to be much we can do about any of it, other than wash our hands obsessively and avoid being among people. If this pandemic lasts long enough, we will all become miserable, isolated human beings with very clean hands. Like socially isolated ants, we may eventually die from social deprivation before the virus ever gets us.

We are social animals. We need each other. Of course, I agree that we should take appropriate precautions. But in addition to avoiding densely populated social venues, it might make sense to also improve our immune systems in order to collectively build up greater resistance to the virus.

My guest on this week’s podcast, Dr. Paul Lam, is both a medical doctor and my tai chi master. Here’s what he said when I asked him about the most important benefits of tai chi:

“I think it’s the effects on the mind. It leads to feeling calmer, more serene, and more in harmony within ourselves. Of course, life is full of challenges, but it just makes me feel more comfortable with myself, more in the present, in harmony with myself, and that is the mental health part. And certainly, the physical is important as well. I would most likely be crippled if I didn’t do tai chi, and my immune system is improved. And so, the benefits are both mental and physical.”
What a timely message! Calmness, serenity and improved immunity. They’re what our world desperately needs today.

So here’s what I intend to do as I see life falling apart around me:

I will continue to shower time and affection on the people I care about. I will continue to breathe. And I will continue to practice my tai chi.