Our priorities, our perceptions will not be what they were on the outset of 2020. The particulars are changing: once-bustling city streets have become quiet . Unstoppable things have stopped, and things that were supposed to be impossible have already happened.
Emerging from what we presumed normality earlier, all are now standing at a crossroad. One of the main tasks now – especially for those of us who are not caught by the virus, are not front-line workers, and are not dealing with other economic difficulties – is to understand the moment, what it might require from us, and what possibilities lie ahead.
The world is wildly connected. Not just by technology but obviously physically, too, as evidenced by the speedy spread of the virus around the globe. To think of countries as separate boundaries from one another is fundamentally not correct. Once we internalize this, we’ll probably be better off, both psychologically and in our ability to plan for future pandemics.
Universally across the globe life has changed, irrevocably. We work from home; we juggle household chores in the few free slots that open up on an increasingly busy daily calendar and we find ourselves doing things we’d assumed weren’t ever in our job descriptions. Boundaries have blurred!
But man lives in hope and looks for the silver lining behind every cloud. That’s what drives the human species.
There might be thousand reasons to be anxious in today’s scenario, but there are many good things that have happened as a result of COVID 19, which, in normal course of life would never have. Nature is healing, pollution levels are down, sky is pristine blue, the species of birds which had disappeared are chirping and flying again. Also, to some extent the level of malice has gone bearish on social media and even the Whats-app forwards are more focused towards entertainment.
Overall, the humanity is rising again, there is empathy in the air, people are polite than ever before. People who us to jump queues shamelessly are now maintaining proper distance and patiently waiting for their turn at the Kirana store. Neighbours who seldom met each other are specially checking on each other if they need any help and about their well being. The corporate are taking salary cuts regretfully but are understanding the need of the hour. We are managing beautifully with the bare minimum resources available and have started to enjoy this simple lifestyle. In every sense we are returning to what human being were actually created for, to love and care.
