Never in my wildest imagination I could have thought what we are facing today. If you are like me, you might have watched movies that highlighted global pandemics but with a skeptical view dismissing any such possibility as mere fiction in our “advanced ” world. But here we are, in 2020 facing one of the worst global pandemic mankind has ever seen.
Things have changed in just a matter of days and weeks. This adversity has shaken us and shown that we are dependent on something much bigger than we think. It has made us to appreciate the luxury we live in, family, friends and realizing that all this while we were taking everything for granted. It has stopped us to see how lost we are in our busy lives and focus on things that may not matter at all. All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting. It’s so bizarre that an invisible virus has shaken the nuclear super powers of this world. Countries around the world have spent millions of dollars to make equipments and machineries to fight against each other but they all put together are failing to provide even the cheapest 75cent face mask at this hour of need. In some sense, this fight against the virus is worse that the great wars fought in the last centuries. In the past, societies have joined together during adversities. But this time, we are faced against something that can only be won by separating ourselves from our fellow neighbors, friends and families.
Apart from all the sadness this adversity has also given us all one very important thing, “Time”. Yes, corona virus has given us time to think who we really are and what really matters at the end. All over the world people are waking up to a new reality, and realizing how small we are and how little control we really have. This crisis has allowed us to put aside all our problems which we thought were so “important”, and allowed us to focus on what is really important to us. It has helped us to learn how to face our worst fears with the help and support of our loved ones and our community. We may have divided ourselves into different religion, race, ethnicity but at the end we all are part of one community which is “humankind”. It has given us moment to re-evaluate our lives. Surprisingly, I have started appreciating older and simpler things in life like learning to cook, small talks with my parents, random video calls with my friends and making sure they are doing okay. I never thought that things that really give me happiness are so simple and free. In last one month of quarantine I have learned the power of hope and gratitude that at this moment, right now, "I have enough". I am thankful to all the doctors, nurses, and frontline line warriors who are fighting selflessly to keep us all safe.
I come from a family of doctors, my dad is a doctor and so is my sister, so I have the first-hand experience of the huge pressure and sense of duty they through each day during this time of crisis. This world is witnessing new masked super heroes that we have not seen before.
I feel like I am a part of science fiction movie where someone has hit the reset button and paused everything. To reduce the wide spread of this virus, all public places are locked down, all tourist spots are closed, institutions and entertainment centers are closed down and there are fewer cars on the road. While much of the news is scary, there is a silver thread of hope in this pandemic. Because everyone is quarantined at home, pollution level is coming down, ozone layer is healing, water bodies are getting cleaner because most of the people are at home with family. There are many other good news from different parts of the world. For instance, In Italy Dolphins have returned to the coast thanks to the missing ships, swans are returning to the canal which are otherwise filled with tourist’s boats. In Singapore otters are roaming freely thanks to empty public places. All these things are a grim reminder that how we humans have taken over the earth. We have encroached the territory of other living beings. We have destroyed their habitat, killed wild animals and over used resources. This is a reminder that we humans don’t own this planet, we share it with lot of other living beings. Our life is as much about co-habitation as about survival of the fittest. We humans can not be burning down forest, polluting oceans, destroying habitat of other living beings and putting their survival at risk. These dolphins belongs to the water of Italy, these swans belong to the canal. Let this crisis leave us with the lesson that we should learn to co-exist otherwise nature will find its extreme ways to reclaim its space. Think about it!!
