It would seem we are all subjugated to the same reality, and therefore, a similar frame of mind during COVID-19: fear of the unknown.
It also seems to be indoors and social distancing will be a top priority over the next few weeks. Therefore, I have listed some books that I think would add great value to your reading arsenal over the next few weeks.
Crisis aside: these are essential reads anyways.
Book #1: Tribe by Sebastian Junger
On Homecoming and Belonging
“Disasters, he proposed, create a “community of sufferers” that allow individuals to experience an immensely reassuring connection to others”
If there is one book I would recommend in a time like this, it’s Sebastian Junger’s Tribe. It encapsulates a truth that during harsh realities like COVID-19 (or any other natural disaster) depression and suicide subsequently go down. Illusory differences like class, gender and race are deemed irrelevant as we are forced to work together for survival.
Book #2: Waking Up by Sam Harris
A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
“Some people are content in the midst of deprivation and danger, while others are miserable despite having all the luck in the world. This is not to say that external circumstances do not matter. But it is your mind, rather than circumstances themselves, that determines the quality of your life. Your mind is the basis of everything you experience and of every contribution you make to the lives of others. Given this fact, it makes sense to train it.”
Since we’re facing the unknown, the only viable place to live is in the present. It’s easier said than done. Social media has hijacked our brains. I would go as far to say that we all have COVID-19 already — it’s the one thing on each humans mind.
Especially if you’re anything like me. Being on the phone 24/7 is one sure-fire way to ensure that existential doom enters your thoughts each time you open your feed.
The antidote? Read Waking Up by the monotonous (in a good spiritual way) by Sam Harris. Sam makes a compelling argument for the power of presence.
Psst! You need not enter a sacred 400-million-year-old building to enter sacred presence. In fact, when you train your mind, through meditation, you realise that most of your suffering are thoughts and illusions.
Guided meditations in times like these can make all the difference. Read my review on the Waking Up App for more.
Book #3: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
“A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth—that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved.”
All three books program your mind in different ways. Tribe communicates community and it’s importance. Waking Up teaches you that life is a single-player game and your mind is all you have — therefore, training it regularly makes sense. Lastly, Man’s Search for Meaning gives your life meaning. Because there is no greatness — or life for that matter — without suffering.
Suffering is not a separate state. To suffer is to live. But finding meaning in your suffering is where the answers lie.
Thanks for indulging in my writing. The solace I find here is unmatched. And it’s thanks to you — my supporters.
My university (as I would imagine is the case with half the worlds tertiary institutions) has given me ‘holiday’ until April 15. I’m taking this as an opportunity to expand my skills — both as a creator and thinker. Therefore, I will be on a social media sabbatical for the next couple of weeks.
You can catch me right here on my blog sharing stuff, writing stuff and talking about more stuff. Hopefully the stuff adds value and not screech to the noise.
Some Of My More Recent Posts
What if the worst thing that has ever happened to you is actually the best?
What if your pain/suffering created roots so deep that no amount of wind can uplift the essence your spirit lives in?What if you let go of trying to think your way out of your trauma and trust in your body’s ability to heal itself? Turning the thing that turned you into the thing that transformed and informed you — that is the embodiment of Post-Traumatic Self Compassion.