Lungs: The Organ of Grief and the Corona Virus

By. Joy Holt

These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them. — Rumi

Ancient Chinese medicine teaches us that our lungs are the organ which holds unprocessed grief. I am in the field of Psychology and one who believes deeply in the undeniable connection between body and mind; and that the health of one depends on the health of the other. It is no wonder that when a patient is feeling enormous anxiety or grief, the goal is to get them back into their bodies and do intentional breath work in order to calm their limbic system down. I have been thinking a lot about our current state of being in the world for quite some time, our current, global Pandemic, and how curious it is that this virus in particular attacks the lungs. Unresolved grief is literally screaming to get our collective attention.

As I have been in conversation with many people since being in quarantine, taking in podcasts of people I respect, and I sense have a deeper vision of what is happening in the world, I can not help but wonder, why have we been forced to slow down to this extent? Its curious. Almost all of life has come to a screeching halt. We are on a mandatory shelter in place where we are being forced to sit with ourselves. We are collectively grieving there is no doubt. Some are grieving because their routines have changed, and they are bored. Some are thinking below the surface, wondering what are we to learn from this cosmic happening.

I am thinking about all the unjust systems within our societal structures; poverty, discriminatory systems that oppress non-dominant race, gender, orientation, social class dissimilarities as well as many other things. These issues have been in our world for decades, centuries, and none of them have caused us to slow down and become collective in our thinking about how we create a more level playing field. For some reason, Covid has elicited what can be done with our collective power when we agree on what is important. Covid is the great awakener to our sensibilities as to how to do we want to exist in this world and live in collective harmony with both each other and our planet. Covid is the radical intervention that is forcing an interruption in our habits, making them visible. When our habits are visible, they are no longer a compulsion, but rather become a choice. How do we want to live?

Are our collective lungs asking us to widen our lens and examine entire systems? I believe yes. Examining our systems would include; who pays for what, who gets access and why, are we willing to finally listen to the voices of the oppressed, believe them and make them leaders to help us adjust our structures, will we finally stop the western splitting between our mind and bodies, will we listen to what are our bodies telling us? Our bodies are of course the first to know, well before our intellect. Our bodies are certainly screaming grief right now. Tell me you are listening and asking of yourself good and hard questions.

I do not believe the way forward is a more sanitized society (although I recognize for this season that is necessary as well as social distancing). I do not want to live in a world where the self is separate from the other, nor humanity separate from nature as that is our lifeblood of interconnectedness. Everyone who participates in act of generosity, kindness, courage moves us toward healing the narrative of separation from one another because in that narrative, we are in this together.

Joy Holt-Hilliker is a Psychotherapist in Private Practice and Writer based in Seattle, WA. She believes that we are both wounded and healed in relationship when we have ample space to explore and develop language around our narrative, agency, vitality and hope.