I always believe that that there is no great teacher than the Life and there is no best lesson than the experience. And it is very rare that all humanity get to learn together the same lesson at the same time. The current pandemic of Covid-19 has given the same opportunity to all the humanity a chance to pause, slow down, take a rest and think about where we are heading with our chaotic modern life. Will we learn… only time will tell.
It may sound little crazy to some of you that how am I daring to look anything positive when there is chaos everywhere. I know this Corona virus has devastated almost everything, be it business, education, travels, tourism, and anything one can think about. All across the world, people are scared to the limit, many have died and billions are struggling. Hence, it is very genuine to ask that can we find any positives in this time.
Well, once said by famous biologist and naturalistCharles Darwin – “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change”. And in my opinion you only bring the change when you are “positive” about it.
So, deep breath and allow me to talk about what all “Positives” I could find out –
A forced slow down to our busy life gave us the family time we always needed-
Many of us are away from our native place and family, leaving in a different city for earnings. Meeting with parents are scheduled only twice a year for max 5-7 days. We miss them badly but don’t dare to go back. This lockdown allowed us to go back & stay with out parents. It is like a dream come true which we have never hoped if we were in a normal condition. I am sure this may be true to billions of people across the world.
My son is two and half years old and every morning I just use to see his sleeping face while going to office and get to spend no more than 2-3 hours in evening. Many of you may relate that a father sees his child growing in their sleeps only. But thanks to this lockdown, I spend many qualities time with him.
How many time you have helped to your wife in her domestic work or cooked together other than a weekend. We all have been so busy in our “fake” routine life, that we have lost the meaning of those “real” moments that we can have with our loved ones. but restricted travels, closed shopping malls, and restaurants, gave chance to half the world to engrave those happy moments within four boundaries of their home. And if I am not wrong, many of us became master chef in current time, trying different type of cuisine from all over the world via YouTube while spending quality times with our better half. Yes, you may have observe the rise in arguments too, but that is the part of “Happy Married life” isn’t it 🙂
And last but not least, thanks to the technologies, over a video call, you can meet with old friends, distant relative and anyone in between, whom you were thinking to meet for a long time. In a nutshell as life slowed down, we have found new ways to connect with people, even if it’s virtually.
The changing dynamics of working style-
I myself is working from Home for past 8 months and may be continue to do so for next few more month. Companies like Facebook, Google and many more, has allowed their people to work from home till the time this pandemic is over, with close to 100% of the them functioning remotely- with little to zero physical offices at all. They are also reimbursing the amount to set-up office in home.
Companies and employees are getting into a phase where trust, integrity and loyalty will play a crucial role in performance. The flexibility in working hours has allowed employees to have meals with their families, watch TV and play with their children without compromising the quality and productivity of work, hence, surprising to their leaders and customers alike.
Since, Major of the work-force in metro cities comes from small town and this Covid-19 situation has allowed them work from their small towns. This forced situation helped to check infrastructure quality, available in many small towns. And trust me, it has gone well during Covid-19 lock down. This will surely give food for thought to industry leaders for alternate approach of get the work done from small town itself, giving them a cushion to reduce the cost in terms of Infrastructure, low salaries and many other factor, simultaneously increasing employment chance to youth of small towns.
Of course this is a forced experiment, and bound to be analyzed. We will measure its’s effect on productivity which has never been tested before. But this has definitely given a chance to rethought on the entire working style and will surly change the dynamics of working pattern.
The air is cleaner and the environment is greener-
The smog in the cities has lifted, we witnessed much clear water in Ganga, Yamuna and other river, factory emissions have fallen so dramatically that the change can be observed from sky.
Based on data from sciencedirect.com, “Vital environmental changes have been evidenced during COVID-19 lockdown. 500% decrease in sewage and industrial effluents in rivers. Noise level was reduced up to 35% to 68% all over the world. Wild life gets a chance to reclaim their land.
It was in news that the Great Himalayas are visible from a distance of 200 kms which was only possible 40-50 years back. We saw many videos of wild animals roaming in the street. in Kerala’s Kozhikode, a Malabar civet, which is a critically endangered animal, was spotted walking on the road. During the period of lockdown across the world, the positive change in environment, has been and eye-opener to all us and created a sense of hope among the people towards a clean and better environment.
Last but not the least – The I, Me and Myself time–
How many times have you said, “I’m too busy”, too busy for yourselves, too busy for your hobbies, too busy to read your favorite book… the list is long. But thanks to this lockdown, making us feel that we miss a life that we had taken for granted and making us more grateful for everything that we do have. You know It’s okay to keep a distance from all other “important things” and have some time for Ourselves. There comes a time in life when everyone needs a break, and that time is now. It is the time we Indulge ourselves in self-healing, creativity and spiritual growth. It should be okay to take extra-long bath or reading book in middle of the day, it should be absolutely okay to go for a long walk or watch TV for long hours shifting channels as long as it gives your mind space and peace. It is the time where we think about ourselves to take a sufficient sleep, get a healthy food, to bond with our family, relieve stress and improve mental health.
Trust that this battle is hard and long, but every coin has two face and we can only survive once we start focusing on better side than crying about the bad side. Humanity has won many battle and I am sure together we can win this too. But right after this pandemic, it is certain that we all will again get back to our same routine work and will continue leading our mundane lives.
But the big question is – can we learn from It? Do we have dare to extend this positivity throughout our lives? May be answer to this may help us to keep evolving and make the world a better place to live.
At the end “Be Positive, stay physically distant but socially connected.
Take care & be safe !!
