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Covid-19 Mask Mandates: Lessons from a Praying Mantis
Reduce pandemic stress as Delta variant surges.
Recently I received a surprise visit from an alien-like insect that people rarely encounter…that being the elusive praying mantis. The last time I saw one was decades ago as a teenager.
How about you?
This time, however, the freaky looking green stick figure was staring at me from the other side of the sliding glass door connecting to my balcony. My wife and I reside on a high floor of a high-rise building just outside of the nation’s capital.
While I can see the Washington Monument and National Cathedral from this perch, at first I failed to see what was right in front of me that morning. Some people say that you don’t find a praying mantis, rather it finds you. This helps to explain why I was so jolted at first sight.
Several questions raced through my mind:
- How did the praying mantis arrive above the 15th floor?
- Why was it on my balcony when it could have been anywhere else?
- Was this unexpected visitation mere happenstance or something more?
I was baffled for minutes as the praying mantis stood motionless staring at me with its bulging eyes, triangular head and elongated body. Then, upon further contemplation, a more profound question arose:
- Could this bizarre creature be delivering a message at a time when Covid-19 mask mandates were being reinstated at indoor public spaces throughout the Washington, DC-area and across the country?
And, if yes, what the heck was this praying mantis trying to tell me?
Turning the Corner
Like millions of Americans, I’ve been stressed out and edgy since the pandemic began proliferating last March. My mental health has been negatively affected by periodic anxiety, intermittent sleep and bouts of minor…
