LIFE LESSONS FROM THE CORONA PANDEMIC

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” Michelle Obama

     The upended turbulence of these extraordinary times, although distressful and traumatic for many, has given us something extraordinary; life lessons. It has shown our real bones to us sans hypocrisies. Albert Camus once said life means “whatever you are doing that prevents you from killing yourself.” The relevance of the statement had been dawning on me for the last few months. We are just doing things that keep us alive. But keeping alive is not as simple as the integrity of the statement as per the social and medical directives. Harmless acts like touching doors, walking in the park, going outdoors, shaking hands can be a death sentence. Historically also we have marched back to our ancestral cave dwellers without a strain of social existence.

     Our fight for survival has drenched us both physically and emotionally and forced us to retreat in our cocoons. Sacked professionals, marching migrants, hungry peasants, sacrilegious cremation of dead bodies, and reduced wages put a tainted mirror on the face of selfishness. This is though ugly and self-centered, but ironically leads us towards a cognizance, humans can’t live without others.

     This requisite for social interaction calls for a fundamental behavioral and ideological change, be useful to others. With the recession in corona fear the world has started rearranging itself; doctors, tenants, maids, and migrants have upsurged from untouchability to desirable entity again. Funerals are witnessing mass mourners and the world is vibrating with its best performances. We, the actors are back to the arena.

     In the meantime, between the corona panic and the present composure, what we learned is going to cast a long-lasting shadow on us. Corona has shown us a borderless world, a world without differences and distance. The virus did not choose between rich and poor, royalty, and proletarian. It showed us the value of humanity and exhibited us in our real frames.

     In our sheltered cages, we reminisced our long-lost relationships, counted our guilts, and prayed for the penances to be forgiven. We learned to stretch helping hands towards the less privileged and thanked the Almighty for the blessings unacknowledged so far.

     The lockdown forced many of us to ask the most vital question to ourselves, what do we need to live. The answer in many cases is, not much. The value of life itself as a precious gift unfolded on many of us. We have learned to respect it with the deepest cores of our hearts and that, perhaps, is the biggest lesson this pandemic has taught us.

 

"Everybody wants happiness, nobody wants pain, but you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain." UNICEF. May 20, 2020.

 

So, without any grudges let us show our heartfelt gratitude to this pandemic and celebrate the greatness of life.

 

Stay happy! Stay healthy.