Last fall the Dean of Students at my college sent an e-mail to all the students informing us that he could tell just from watching us walk across the quad that we looked sick. He stated that once someone in any given dorm got the flu, it would spread like wildfire to everyone else in the dorm and that the best thing we could do was to sleep, sleep, sleep to "build and maintain a healthy immune system."
My initial reaction was one of shock that he had sent out such an e-mail. It struck me as incredibly unhelpful, as my instinct would not be to talk about disease in that way, because I think it only serves to spread fear, leading to more disease, not less. In addition, having come from a Christian Science high school where such an e-mail would have most likely included some helpful thoughts about how to metaphysically or spiritually address contagion or sickness—it was kind of a jolting approach for me.
I knew that I needed to pray. With that insight, however, came the sudden thought that I was alone. Barely three weeks into my freshman year, I had adjusted well to college life, but now I suddenly felt there was nobody I could turn to for spiritual support on this issue. So now, I not only had to address the fear of contagion and the frustration that the dean had sent out such a negative e-mail, but also the idea that I was without support. I did understand that the suggestions that I could be afraid or alone were untrue because those kinds of thoughts don't come from God, whom I know as divine Love. But I needed to back up my convictions with spiritual reasoning.
