Hard Reminders by the Pandemic

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The world we are living is crushing to an unrivaled halt while everyone plunged at homes to avoid COVID-19 exposure. All of a sudden, we find our entire lives playing out assortments of ways to exploit the situation.

Let’s look at some of the basic truths that were revealed during the prevailing shutdown of the socio-economic system.

We All Are In This Together

People from all walks of life are vulnerable in this situation regardless of their race, religion, political or social status. We all are wildly connected not only technologically but physically as evidenced by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 around the world.

The “Solution Set” includes not only in the medical discoveries but also some collaborative “Global Scale” preventive measures as one’s well-being extremely relies on their neighbors’ well-being.

“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us a harsh lesson to rethink the definition of “SUCCESS”, not as a victory over others. It’s all about empowering the society as a whole; we are One Humanity and We All Are In This Together”

–Sri Sri Ravi Shankar–

We Are Vulnerable Than We Think

Modern technological advancements constantly evoke us that we are an invincible civilization with answers to everything. Powerful nations disburse bags full of dollars to evolve weapons of mass destruction and declare themselves unbeatable or indomitable.

But the irony is that the whole world faces a war that cannot be fought with missiles, tanks or machine guns but only with ventilators, vaccines and sanitizers. It’s surprising just how fragile & powerless the so-called invincible civilization when the Nature strikes.

Everything seems to come to a halt with the pandemic; jobs are in line, social gatherings got canceled. To make matters worse – Freedom of movement – which contemplated as a basic human right is also delimited & closely monitored.

This reminds us that we are not invincible, “We Are Vulnerable”, we are not above the Nature, “We Are Part Of The Nature” and nature makes the rules. We only have to live by them.

What Matters Most

In a capitalist society, driven by monetary rewards and everything is valued in monetary terms, people are obsessed with making money while expanding their wealth. The spread of the pandemic and resulted devastation reminded the age-old wisdom that “Health—not money—our true wealth”, and that we would trade anything for the health and safety of our loved ones.

While part of the world is already mourning for the loss of their loved ones; the other part fears that they might be next. Tragically we tend to take life and all its preciousness for granted until we face such moments of existential crisis.

So, “Be Grateful” to remain alive and practice gratitude. “Be Thankful” as you still have your loved ones around safe and sound. “What Matters Most” is to cherish for what you are granted; your food, comfortable bed or the uninterrupted breath you take even in this second.

Prepare For Unknown

Marketing and consumerism have always compelled us for impulsive purchases. Dispose of usable things as new models arrive. Show off ourselves with useless pricy possessions. This twisted a hype of waste and lesser savings.

Yes!!! There is nothing wrong with luxury and comfort; but still we should be mindful of our financial stability. The pandemic has to lead the way to significant layoffs / pay cuts while freelance workers and most small-time entrepreneurs are inevitably out of business. It is evident that most affected people are clueless on how to survive without their income while trying to rely on donations, aids & loans.

We are taught the hard way; not to waste our money or resources & only to live with what is essential. It’s high time to practice personal risk management & rethink of our money handling strategies. It would help the survival during unforeseen crisis situations and better to get yourself “Prepare For the Unknown”.

It’s Time To Slow Down 

We are forced to live a fast-paced life loaded with presentations, meetings, reports, etc. Multi-tasking has become the new normal to cope up with the mounting stressful workload. Work-life balance has become a rocket science for many.

The pandemic has paused the world. In response, you’ll have a lot of free time; no more customer appointments, management meetings or business events.  As the country is locked down, we have been forced to “Slow Down”.

Clutch this beautiful opportunity to take the break that you wished for. Sit down. Relax. Breathe. Give yourself some time to think. Solitude or time alone is the key to one’s mental and physical well-being. Keep on recalling what you missed during your rat-race. You can look-see my previous article for some essential tips.

https://silverliningbyshankii.wordpress.com/2020/05/01/stay-home-stay-positive/

Be Gentle With Nature

As human life turned upside down, the Planet earth seems to heal itself and breathe more freely.

Major Chinese cities register drops in air pollution. Due to the lockdown, the average number of “good quality air days” in China increased by more than 20% in February. Forbes Magazine estimates that this saved more than 77,000 lives. An Assistant Professor at Stanford estimated that the improved air quality could have saved between up to 75,000 premature deaths. Satellite images of Italy show a drastic reduction in air pollutants. The ozone layer began to heal due to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

For decades, we have abused the environment. Soil pollution, resource depletion, air and water contamination are all embarrassing specimens of how we treated Mother Nature. So this is the time to “Be Gentle With Nature”; she fought back and shut us down; she is in the process of healing her wounds.

Final Thought

Life is what you make of it. If you solely focus on the negative, that’s all you’ll ever see. But if you care to look beyond that, you’ll find the golden nuggets hidden away in the mud.

“There is no rainbow without the rain & after rain comes Sunshine“

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