COVID-19: The World might never be the same again, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
Last week I came across an image of white swans cruising along the water in Venice’s canals. This happened after many days I believe as the boat traffic diminished due to Corona. I also read that the pollution level in China had mitigated since the Corona Outbreak. It is a bit sad to see that it had to come to this for us as a species to be forced to give Nature a chance. And it’s not just Nature that has taken a beating by the way.
1. We, and more importantly, our children are growing up in a world of Me Too, My Choice. My life, My space…
There is no Our decision, our planet, our choice or our space….even the United States, once treasured as an iconic land tells its people America First! Our nationalistic boundaries have overcome any sense of global unity, our religions, race, color, gender, privileges tend to divide rather than unite.
Perhaps this is the first time our children will realize (and we as well) that we need to sacrifice for the greater good. For the people we might not know but who are connected to us in an intangible way… in humanity. And if we let go a single link of the chain, it will all come crumbling down. Like a domino effect. We might not have an elderly person in our homes, we might not be a daily wage earner, but we know them.. and for them we must give in.
We might finally realise the power of US and not ME!
2. The world is moving so fast that we lose track of minutes. Hours.Days. Months.
Corona will force us to slow down.
What we couldn’t achieve through environmental global summits and group yoga classes, we might achieve through COVID-19. We have to slow down now. Reconnect with those who matter. Learn to live under one roof without the option to take a break because someone is walking into our space.
Kinda like when you shared a room with your siblings growing up…and then you fought hard… but you came back to sleep in the same space. When there’s no way out. There’s compromise. Strangely. That is what distinguishes humans from animals. Although I love animals … so I guess. Not the best comparison there.
3. The social media world will go on.
As far as we know, COVID-19 hasn’t reached it yet. But once we are at home, no filters, no fabulous backgrounds, the real us might resurface unless we choose to still lather on layers of makeup and pretend the children don’t exist while we Selfie our way out of this one too. I have my doubts though.
I think this change in our lives will lead to some real content. Some real connections. Like Coldplay streaming live on Instagram last night from their homes. Like Trevor Noah attempting to sing off a NYC balcony to mimic the Italians, and giving us a priceless moment there. Some of the most creative art, literature and ballet happened when the Soviet Union was in isolation. The point being, when we push ourselves to get creative… we will. And we can produce wonders. I’m waiting for the magic to take over.
There is a whole lot more that will happen. As we shift gears and respond to situations we didn’t even know we would encounter. And I’m quite certain that some among us will take the lead to reach out and help those that need help. Some will go above and beyond to show us that the human spirit is not really dead, just in a state of slumber. Some will take the lead and inspire others to follow.
We needed a wakeup call. And perhaps this is the one.
The world could not imagine a month ago that we would be where we are today. And we cannot imagine where will be a month later. That alone. That sense of uncertainty has thrown us off. When Google doesn’t have all the answers, neither does Science, maybe Faith does? Or we do? Same difference btw, for some of us!
Where do we go from here? Let’s just try and do the right thing. Be patient, practice kindness, eat healthy, stay fit and maybe, now is the time to write that book, that blog, that painting you always wanted to 😉
And as for the Cherry Blossoms in this picture. I took this picture last week in Basel for my mother who loves Cherry blossoms in Spring. The tree was in full bloom and bees were making a real party of it!
If all else fails … Spring will come again and the tree will bloom again. Just let’s let the bees do their thing, while we do ours.
Our planet. Our people. Our choice. Our lives. We decide to make it work. And it will.
Cheers to you and yours!
