A common childhood fear is being afraid of the dark. My own children went through phases of waking my wife and me up in the middle of the night, unconsolably crying. The culprit of the tears was the fear of not knowing what was in the room. They heard a sound; was it a monster, a person, or just the normal sounds a house makes? They feared the unknown. We are in the midst of this fear right now in our society. COVID-19 is the unknown. Just as I did for my children many times, I dragged my exhausted body out of bed to search in the dark for the monster hiding under their bed. We are all searching for answers in the dark.
“Don’t be scared, we are right here to protect you.” These are the words I would use to comfort my children. These are my words of action to all of you today. Firstly, do NOT be afraid. We all need to remain positive amid the changes occurring day to day. Secondly, we need to support one another. These are not times of competition, instead we need to help each other out. We are all searching for answers to the same questions. Businesses around us are starting to close and wonder how they will be able to make it through this. Employers are searching for ways to pay their employees when business has ultimately halted. These ‘monsters under the bed’ keep us up at night. This is a time for togetherness, within businesses, between businesses and within our own families. Let us remember we are not alone, reach out to one another and offer help when you can. This is a time for prudence not panic, alertness not anxiousness, and positivity not negativity.