Let this responsible man inspire us to love from a distance.

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He is showing love to his family from a distance. A walking distance at that. He is a father of two boys. He is a husband. He is a farmer who trades what he produces. He lives at the remote part of the city. Every day, this man travels to the city to sell his products.

When he comes home at the end of a grueling day, he does not enter his home to hug his wife and his two children. He has built a small hut in front of his small home – where he lives temporarily.

Why?

Because of Coronavirus. He travels to the middle of the city every day and trade with other traders. He can’t quit his job and stay at home. He supports his family. His wife is a stay-at-home mom.

He comes home every day stays at his small hut. He can see his wife and children in his home. He chooses to stay outside of his home.

Such beautiful love saves us.

By the time I am writing this article, 12 people have tested positive for the corona virus in Ethiopia. This Ethiopian farmer is choosing to love his loved ones from a short distance.

Because none of us know whether we have the virus in our system or not.

How can you be sure the virus is not in your system if you travel to your work? If you use a public transport? If you engage with other human beings?

The agony this man must be feeling when he sees his family. To see your loved ones across a short distance. But not hugging them tightly to your chest. Not holding their hands. Not touching their faces.

He loves from a short distance.

For the possibility that he could bring the virus from the city in his body and transmit it to his loved ones.

This man is a darling. He shows us how to love in the time of corona – when the threat of catching the virus is as easy as walking outside your door.

How do you love from a distance?

Be creative

My darling you can’t hug and walk across town holding hands, expecting the virus will have mercy on you. I am angry at a father who walks across my neighbourhood hugging his children.

He hugs them after he comes home from his work.

Why the hell are we not taking this virus seriously? If you love your loved ones – don’t hug them and scroll across town as if you are immune to this deadly virus.

You are not.

You do not show love when you hug your elderly mother after coming from work. You do not show love when you eat lunch with your colleagues sitting close to each other. You do not show love when you kiss your girlfriend without washing your hands first.

You show your love when you do everything in your power to love from a distance as the current situation demands.

Be creative.

Like the farmer who built a temporarily hut for himself.

You can do it. You can be creative and show your love from a distance. You just have to want to do it.

Here in Ethiopia, wr have a culture of eating our food in one plate. I love my boyfriend. But it has been 7 days since my boyfriend and I ate in one plate.

Distance for the time being is a must to love. In the time of corona I show my love from a distance. Every Sunday I eat lunch with my mom. Now I don’t. I video chat with my mom while eating lunch.

Yesterday I saw love in four elderly people talking in my neighbourhood. They are 70ish. All of them stood 2 feet away from each other. They talked for a couple of minutes and then they walked a certain distance and stood like before.

2 feet away from each other.

The more they keep distance from one another, the less chance they have of catching the deadly virus. And the less chance they will carry it and transmit it to their loved ones.

These responsible men show love in the right way than a father who walks across the neighbourhood hugging his children right after coming from his work.

For goodness sake, please wake up.

You do not love when you are irresponsible.

Use your phone to hear the voice of your loved ones

The farmer in my above story calls his wife – even though she is a walking distance away. He tells a story to his two boys over the phone before their bed time. I am sure neighbours are laughing at him for taking this pandemic seriously.

Let them laugh.

Who cares? You are doing everything in your control to protect your loved ones.

Thank goodness for the existence of phones. You can call your loved ones and hear their voices – whether they live a short distance away or across the ocean.

If you think it is silly to call someone when they are right there with you, I have a story for you. A friend has brought her mother to live with her. Her mother is sick before the world heard of COVID-19.

When the daughter enters her home after a long day of work, she takes the stairs to her bedroom upstairs. Her mother is downstairs in the salon.

She craves to hug her mother. She craves to watch the news – while she rests her head on her mother’s thigh.

She craves. A kiss from her mother. Talking with her mother through the whole Sunday face-to-face. Holding her mother’s elbow and walking across town while putting her head on her mother’s shoulder.

She craves.

And yet. She chooses not to act on what she craves. She chooses to act on what her loved ones need in this time of corona. Distance.

So she calls her mother when she comes home. She calls her even though she is a couple of feet away.

Send a thoughtful email to your loved ones

You and I have something we do not use to its full capacity. You are reading this article. So you have access to the internet.

Why not use the Internet to send a thoughtful email to your loved ones?

We can exercise writing an email to our loved ones in this frightening time. Compose one. You will shock your loved ones with this one. Because we have forgotten to write letters and reach someone we love through an email.

Send love through an inbox.

You can email a thoughtful email to your colleague. To your boss. To your boyfriend. To your girlfriend. To your fiancé. To your wife. To your sister. To your uncle.

Use the social media for its purpose

Niklas Goke’s blog, Empty Your Cup, does a great job of sending love across the world. Every blog post he publishes sends love to his readers across the cyberspace.

He sends love from a distance, literally. He is an exemplary blogger who uses his blog for good.

You and I can use the social media for its purpose. To connect with others.

Twitter. Facebook. WordPress blogs. We can use them to send a message of love.

Let your wife see a message of love through a tweet. Let your readers read a hopeful message in this time of uncertainty through a blog post. Let your colleagues see your hopeful face through a video call.

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For the time being, change the way you love. Less touching and more creative ways to show your love from a distance.

Because, in the time of corona, we become irresponsible when we neglect distance.

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To your Inspirations,

Banchi