Finding comfort without Jesus during a pandemic

[AcrobaticDetective]

First of all, just to fill you in on my own personal version of crazy, a part of me blames my deconversion for the pandemic. I am a rational person who knows better, but the thought is haunting.

 

But what I'm really looking for is solace. If this had happened before my deconversion, I would have been in constant prayer and feeling like all would be okay...I just needed to have faith. Now I feel helpless. Where do you find comfort at a time like this?

[◊ Weezer ◊]

49 minutes ago, AcrobaticDetective said:

 

Where do you find comfort at a time like this?

 

I may not be the best person to respond to your question.   I am not a worrier.   If it happens, it happens.  All we can do is do what we can to minimize the chances of getting the virus.  And if we do, depending on our age and resistance level, it will likely not be the end of the world for us.  Most seem to get over it okay. 

 

So what is your worry?  What is your self talk telling you about yourself?   Maybe you need to program yourself to be kinder to yourself.  Solace is a frame of mind, and there is more to it than religion.   My memory is terrible.  Are you working on that With a professional? 

[AcrobaticDetective]

5 minutes ago, Weezer said:

I may not be the best person to respond to your question.   I am not a worrier.   If it happens, it happens.  All we can do is do what we can to minimize the chances of getting the virus.  And if we do, depending on our age and resistance level, it will likely not be the end of the world for us.  Most seem to get over it okay. 

 

So what is your worry?  What is your self talk telling you about yourself?   Maybe you need to program yourself to be kinder to yourself.  Solace is a frame of mind, and there is more to it than religion.   My memory is terrible.  Are you working on that With a professional? 

 

I'm more worried about the economy and the potential for another depression. I'm worried of losing my job and not being able to take care of my family.

 

It's been awhile since I have worked with a therapist. But it's probably a good time to go back.

[older]

2 hours ago, AcrobaticDetective said:

Where do you find comfort at a time like this?

  

Here's what I do:

1. Follow enough news from reliable sources to know what you need to do, but don't consume too much of it.

2. Verify anything that sounds radical or questionable through multiple sources.

3. And, although we don't do the God thing any more, keep in mind the Serenity Prayer minus the God stuff:

  Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

  The courage to change the things I can,

  And the wisdom to know the difference.

[◊ Weezer ◊]

Thanks, now I have a better idea of what you mean.  Hopefully you can get over feeling that you caused it. And I thought you were more concerned about getting the virus. 

 

I have the same concerns about what it will do to the world's economy, and getting the necessities of life out to people.  I think there may be some overreaction considering that most people will survive it okay.   Too many people live paycheck to paycheck and with businesses closed, and jobs shut down, won't be able to pay the rent, etc.

[SarahJaneSmith]

This is a scary, unprecedented time we’re in now. As far as finding comfort now, I can look back at the amount of crazed anxiety I felt when I spent hours in pleading prayer. So for me, I wasn’t feeing reassured by Jesus or reading the bible or praying. I could never understand people who would say they couldn’t cope with their days if they didn’t start by first “having a quiet time” where they’d pray, read the bible, sing, or whatever. I always envied people who did. 
 

Sorry, that’s probably not helpful to you. A couple things I do are to take some deep breaths, like five to ten second inhale and the same with exhaling. That alone is sometimes helpful with mild anxiety. Sometimes I need to journal. Sometimes I need to see my therapist and sometimes I take medicine to take the edge off. 
 

None of these fix problems. I’m sorry I don’t have comfort for you. What they do is allow me to take a step back and give me the space to figure out my next step, hopefully without the side of panic. 

[MOHO]

19 hours ago, AcrobaticDetective said:

Where do you find comfort at a time like this?

Grape juice!

 

Seriously, @AcrobaticDetective we are hunkering down to avoid the ravaging outbreaks of Italy and Iran. This is working for South Korea and will constrain the bug until a vaccine is available. The first dose was administered to the the first test human today. You can read the article on NBCNEW.com.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/coronavirus-vaccine-test-opens-1st-doses-n1160836

 

Locusts have ravaged parts of Africa and are on their way to the Middle East. America will end up sending food to those places which will bolster the damage done to the farmers by the recent trade war with China.

 

We're in good shape and will be OK.

My greatest concern is Mrs. MOHO draining our saving account and sending it to pastor ass-hat. I heard her on the phone yesterday with the the pastor's wife who was really giving lip-service to the end-times bullshit. This beotch really knows how to get that tithing gravy train a roll'n!

[AcrobaticDetective]

Thank you everyone. Your suppprt and community really help.

 

I went for a walk today and drew for a bit. Those helped as well.

 

And thanks for the good news, MOHO. Good luck with the Mrs.

[MOHO]

13 hours ago, AcrobaticDetective said:

And thanks for the good news, MOHO. Good luck with the Mrs.

Thanx, dude!

[midniterider]

Fapping...that and videogames. 

[Aqualung]

1 hour ago, midniterider said:

Fapping...that and videogames. 

Also Reefer. 

[Margee]

On 3/16/2020 at 10:17 PM, AcrobaticDetective said:

a part of me blames my deconversion for the pandemic. .......

 

But what I'm really looking for is solace. If this had happened before my deconversion, I would have been in constant prayer and feeling like all would be okay...I just needed to have faith. Now I feel helpless. Where do you find comfort at a time like this?

 

AD, You are not the one with all the power. God is supposed to be the one with all the magical power. He is supposed to be Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. He's supposed to fix the earth? It's his creation, right? I'm sure trillions of people from all over the world are praying right now and nothing seems to be stopping this virus. It will run it's course and not everyone will get out alive. This is part of life, virus's. Hundreds of virus's have taken over the earth for centuries and any prayers that people sent out throughout history did not stop it. So who's fault is it? The one that is supposed to have ALL the magical power and yet 'he' doesn't stop the sickness or suffering?? You mustn't blame yourself. You have to comfort yourself. You have to do what they are suggesting to do to protect yourself. We have to let it run it's course and cross our fingers that  this will go away fast if we all do the right thing.

 

Try to get your mind on other things. I am trying to pretend that most things are normal but I am not in denial either. Go out for walks and take in the sunshine. Stay off the sites on social media that scare the shit out of us. I deleted them all and now look only to the reliable information. The solace you are looking for is within yourself by accepting that this epidemic is here, it is part of living on this earth and we all have to go through it together. Go watch a funny you-tube tonight. 

 

If you think I find this easy, it's not. It's not for billions of people, me included. I spent 4 days in terrifying, paralyzing fear as I know that I am older now with  compromised lung problems. If my husband is laid off, (which will probably happen because everything in our city is shutting down) I'll be with the other millions that will fall financially unless the government really does step in and help us all. I will lose my house that I worked so hard to keep for 23 years...... blood, sweat and a lot of tears.... without the help of jesus. 

 

It' has taken a few days for me to wrap my head around this whole thing and it's scary. Just never give up.  And don't blame yourself. You didn't cause it nor can you fix it, accept by protecting yourself and your loved ones and do what they suggest. Hang in there. We're all in this together.  Big (hug)

 

P.S. If it makes you feel better, tell god you are sorry for not praying. And then start praying right away. Pray for the next 7 days and see if you can stop this virus. I can tell you that you will be wasting your time.

[AcrobaticDetective]

On 3/18/2020 at 8:56 PM, Margee said:

 

AD, You are not the one with all the power. God is supposed to be the one with all the magical power. He is supposed to be Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. He's supposed to fix the earth? It's his creation, right? I'm sure trillions of people from all over the world are praying right now and nothing seems to be stopping this virus. It will run it's course and not everyone will get out alive. This is part of life, virus's. Hundreds of virus's have taken over the earth for centuries and any prayers that people sent out throughout history did not stop it. So who's fault is it? The one that is supposed to have ALL the magical power and yet 'he' doesn't stop the sickness or suffering?? You mustn't blame yourself. You have to comfort yourself. You have to do what they are suggesting to do to protect yourself. We have to let it run it's course and cross our fingers that  this will go away fast if we all do the right thing.

 

Try to get your mind on other things. I am trying to pretend that most things are normal but I am not in denial either. Go out for walks and take in the sunshine. Stay off the sites on social media that scare the shit out of us. I deleted them all and now look only to the reliable information. The solace you are looking for is within yourself by accepting that this epidemic is here, it is part of living on this earth and we all have to go through it together. Go watch a funny you-tube tonight. 

 

If you think I find this easy, it's not. It's not for billions of people, me included. I spent 4 days in terrifying, paralyzing fear as I know that I am older now with  compromised lung problems. If my husband is laid off, (which will probably happen because everything in our city is shutting down) I'll be with the other millions that will fall financially unless the government really does step in and help us all. I will lose my house that I worked so hard to keep for 23 years...... blood, sweat and a lot of tears.... without the help of jesus. 

 

It' has taken a few days for me to wrap my head around this whole thing and it's scary. Just never give up.  And don't blame yourself. You didn't cause it nor can you fix it, accept by protecting yourself and your loved ones and do what they suggest. Hang in there. We're all in this together.  Big (hug)

 

P.S. If it makes you feel better, tell god you are sorry for not praying. And then start praying right away. Pray for the next 7 days and see if you can stop this virus. I can tell you that you will be wasting your time.

 

Thank you so much, Margee. You're words are very comforting. I hope you stay healthy and that your husband is able to keep his job.

[Crazycatlady]

I found comfort in the Satanic Temple's response to Coronavirus. I can't find it right now (it was published shortly before March 16th if anyone's google-fu is stronger than mine). The closest I can find is this summary. They basically acknowledged that we're all going through a very hard time right now and we can expect it to be traumatic. What we need to do though is practice social distancing and staying at home while we wait for a vaccine to be developed. 

 

I take a lot of comfort in the fact that the world's top scientists are working on a vaccine. We just need to slow the transmission until they can develop it. 

 

(I'm going to keep looking for that press release now). 

 

 

Edit: found it in my email trash folder (and restored so I can find it again later): 

 

Quote

A LETTER FROM LUCIEN GREAVES

Dear TST members and supporters,             The COVID-19 pandemic is certain to impact all of us individually as well as necessitating short-term operational adjustments within The Satanic Temple. There is a difference between “Don’t Panic” and “Carry On As Usual,” and unfortunately, for many, that distinction seems to have been unclear to a large number of people in the early days of this outbreak when we could have better mitigated the infection to help reduce the overburden soon to be placed on our hospitals and healthcare services. While it is important to not panic, we must also recognize that this pandemic is real, and we must adjust our behavior accordingly with respect to the health and safety of the world-at-large.   WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW           Effective immediately, there will be no in-person social gatherings of The Satanic Temple, either at our headquarters in Salem, or at our local chapters. We each have a duty to do our best to not be infected and, if infected, a duty to do our best to not infect others. As Satanists striving to do our best to “act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason” none of us, regardless of how young and healthy, can be comforted by COVID-19’s statistical tendency to be a fatality risk “only to the old and immuno-compromised.” Many of us may feel secure in our personal odds, but our own infections, followed by a failure to isolate, pose a fatality risk to others. We must work to practice social distancing now and keep ourselves as healthy as we can for as long as we can while healthcare desperately attempts to keep up.   WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TST IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE           Soon -- and very soon, I suspect -- the choice to isolate will be made for us. Until there is a vaccine, mandated lockdowns are going to be necessary to manage the infection’s exponential spread. For many of us, this social isolation will not be easy. For that reason, we (The Satanic Temple) have begun working on ideas for keeping our community better networked online for the duration of this pandemic. Ideas are in the nascent phases, but we are considering a central online schedule of open video chats that can include basic topic themes, trivia, emotional support, general chats, and “bar nights” (video chatting with the intention of drinking). The open discussions can be whatever we want them to be, but they should all be respectful and supportive. Let us put politics and outrage aside for the time being and try to relate to one another each as individuals all going through a difficult global crisis. It is our insistence that this ethic prevails in the forthcoming all-members’ TST video chats, but it is our hope that we will carry this ethic into our daily social media usage, even as conspiracy theories, ignorance, and outright malice, propagate at a rate matching the alarming growth of coronavirus infection.   IN CONCLUSION           Please keep updated on our social media and on our website as we begin to cohere our ideas for better online membership video networking. In the meantime, we will be staying in and working on loads of new content for TST TV to keep you informed and entertained as the drudgery of lockdown drags on.           For those upset and saddened at this unexpected turn of events, I promise you, at the end of this there is a massive Satanic celebration to be had, and we will come through this stronger, and more deeply committed, as a community and global Satanic family.   Love, Lucien Greaves