Like every year, this year too came with some new hopes and happiness. We all were in high spirits, made resolutions, prepared bucket-list and planned for 2020, but the year started with the sad news about COVID-19 breaking out in Wuhan, China. In the beginning, we thought it would be a kind of another epidemic similar to MERS, SARS etc. which had spared us earlier. But before we could have realized the seriousness of this deadly disease, it became a global health crisis and reached India’s door. Let alone being immunized for it, we would have never imagined such a pandemic even in the wildest of our dreams.
When we all were flying high and planning out the year with travel plans, vacations, parties, weddings etc, the government announced a complete lockdown across the nation. Now, having spent more than 6 months into this critical phase of lockdown and social distancing, I have realized that destiny has taught me some very crucial life lessons in the disguise of COVID-19.
Here’s how:
- Compassion:
Any global crisis, calamity or catastrophe does not break out alone. It brings with it an outbreak of compassion towards people enduring it. When life is at stake, humanitarian emotions and empathy first flick to our minds. One such emotion of mine, which had taken a back seat over the years has strongly surfaced during the pandemic. Be it feeding the needy, empathizing with the migrants, feeling the plight of pets, helping out others, caring for the environment, or thanking the social workers, COVID-19 has helped me found my compassion back.
- Vulnerability:
COVID-19 has broken the most widespread misconception that the human race is the most powerful creature on this planet. Until recently, I used to think that humans are the smartest creation of God but a little virus, which is even invisible with a naked eye, came and outsmart the humans so badly.
Really, Coronavirus has made me realize the reality of human’s vulnerability and evidenced the omnipotence of animals and nature again. I have experienced some amazing changes in the environment around me as soon as humans got locked at their homes and stopped all the abuses to nature. The pandemic has taught me that humans had better respect animals and lead a lifestyle that is in harmony with them. I remember the deadly zoonotic disease has emerged from the human’s brutal behaviour towards ‘Bat’. Coronavirus has made one thing very clear to me, “if humans mess up with nature, it will create havoc on our lives and get as nasty as it can.”
- Optimism:
When life treats us well, we always have a choice to be an optimist or pessimist. But what, when the doors of deity are even closed and being pessimist, is just not an option? Yes, the pandemic has dropped us all in such a situation and taught us the importance of everything. Honestly telling, during these 6 months of lockdown, I have wholeheartedly appreciated the true value of the doctors, sweepers, milkmen, laundrymen, or even the vegetable vendors with whom I used to bargain for every single penny. The last few months of lockdown have indeed filled my heart with obligation and shown me the shiner side of life.
Moreover, I have found many latent talents in myself. The phase of social distancing has made me self-dependent in many aspects. It has made me realise the importance of self-cooking, sweeping and sanitizing like never before. Now, I have deleted the phrase “I can’t” from my life’s dictionary and updated it with “I can”.
- Introspection:
The hustle-bustle of daily life has left us with no time to sit with family, which actually the lockdown has done. The phase of social distancing and working from home has made me meet that one thing (spending time with family), which I was badly missing. In the distressful time of COVID-19, it was my family, where I found solace. Now, the hubbub of the morning has been a history for me. I wake up leisurely, catch the news, play with my son, cook up a storm and spend time with family.
Just remember, when days were normal how much time we spent with our parents or children? How many times did we make efforts to catch up with our long lost folks? How many times did we lay a helping hand to the needy? Or even how many times have we seriously considered of strengthening our immunity? Don’t you think, COVID-19 has opened our eyes and taught us the value of things that really matter to us?
- Cooking:
Staying home during lockdown has forced me to re-ignite my love for cooking. To be true, learning how to cook is one of the most integral skills I have developed during the pandemic. Now, to feed my sweet tooth, I don’t need to depend on my maid. I can cook many sorts of scrumptious dishes, delicious cakes or anything else that my heart desires.
The sense of reward when I cook on my own and the feeling of dining-in is really out of this world for me. I cook, eat-in and click the pictures of tempting food to share it on social media. I have re-discovered the wonders of cooking and eating-in during the lockdown.
Conclusion:
Really, nothing can give us life lessons better than the toughest times. They are the best teachers. This pandemic has shown us the mirror and made us realise the importance of nature, animals, etc. Also, it has made us aware of our responsibilities as a community towards efficiently overcoming any kind of disaster.
All in all, life is all about perspective. So, instead of taking the pandemic as a curse, we should try to take some vital lessons from it. Let’s keep our spirits high, and believe in the best. As Dr Wayne Dyer, a famous motivational speaker says, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”