Regress

COVID-19 has become a hiatus in our lives. There is no going back from this or so we think. This will be known as the time that marked a ‘before’ and an ‘after’. COVID-19 has made us realise how life can quickly get short, poor, truculent and brutal. We have been taken back to life’s first principles of unity, kindness, truth, compassion, flexibility and simplicity. We are also more aware now that we are part of nature and not above it as we are sharing viruses with other animals.

Undoubtedly, we are experiencing challenging times, we have been stripped bare; our fragile selves exposed to the deadly COVID-19. Right now, we are all in the same boat regardless of nationality, class or age, faced with the same uncertainties. Some are in big boats, some in small boats, some in dinghies, some on pieces of wood or whatever they could grab their hands on but floating we are all of us. Where to, you ask? Time will tell. This will mostly depend on the zeitgeist of today.

The circumstances of our daily lives have already changed so drastically. We have been trying to adapt ourselves to a new way of living, living in a bubble or living in isolation or iso if you prefer the trending short term, children are missing school, we are not going to work, we are working from home or we have lost our jobs, borders are closed, we are not allowed to attend the funerals of our dear ones, we are not able to celebrate birthdays or other joyous occasions with our close ones, the economy is wrecked and our lives are threatened. People have been shattered in every imaginable way.

We have seen a beacon of light though, which is the fact that we were able to see beyond of ourselves. We were able to make conscious decisions, we were able to care, we were able to lead, we were able to revel once again in the simplicity of things. For the first time in a long time, we are slowing down, we are talking again and we are thinking about each other.

Will this be the wake-up call to establish a better way of living together? Are we ready to forsake our mechanical and belligerent past and get back to the basics? Could this mean a beginning of redesigning the society so that we are in harmony with nature? There are many questions and speculations. I don’t know what will happen when all this is over.

Many of us are looking for a silver lining to this experience, after all, it is only human nature. There might be more reminders like Covid-19 in the future but right now we have the possibility to make a change. This will be more possible on an individual level rather than societal. While in lockdown, we were able to reflect on what really matters, what or who is really worthy of our time, and what is truly good in human life. There was a genuine interconnection, compassion, friendship, laughter and sacrifice.

If you go down the history lane, it is a fact that crisis can reveal many things. Everyone wants to get out of this better. I guess the best thing is to take it one breath at a time. Sometimes just being is enough. I sincerely do hope that after all of this, we emerge more human. I was asked where am I going with this article or simply put what am I trying to say? Reading this might seem like an unravelled piece leading into infinite regress. Was this my aim? Read the first paragraph again.