Pandemic 2020: Unforgettable Lessons

We are almost at the end of this phenomenal year of the pandemic 2020. Now, we are hopefully looking forward to miracles that the in-trial and in-use vaccines might bring to the coronavirus-hit world at large. The year 2020 has been a great leveller for us and it has driven some hard-hitting life lessons home.

Pandemic 2020 and our Insignificance

We humans like to believe that we are the superior-most beings in the great chain of beings. But we had to knuckle under the crippling impact of the tiny insignificant thing that we all know now, as COVID-19. It entered our oh-so-perfect instagrammable lives and disrupted it in ways we never imagined. As the New Year, 2021 is around the corner with a promise, we are placing hope in the ongoing vaccine rollouts, silently praying that the Coronavirus is defeated. Let us take a close look at the life lessons we learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic despite waves of negativity, sad outcomes, terrible illness and death. 

Life lessons during the lockdown

Almost as if Thanos had snapped his fingers and poof! Those familiar places, haunts, lifestyles, all the markers of a life we identified with disappeared. Yes, drastic steps taken by governments everywhere brought life and livelihoods to a standstill. We huffed, puffed, grimaced, shouted and finally resigned to the lockdown days after a last-minute spree of panic buying to stock the essential items for the lockdown ahead.

All homemakers worried about getting stocks of basic dal chawal, greens and essential medicines. The Leveller erased all other needs and brought us down to the only things we needed to survive. It was not just about food it was also about the superficiality of life we were so accustomed to. The unending shopping, eating out, hanging out at malls or taking that weekend break to new destinations.

Pandemic 2020:The Dusk of the Gods

The world huddled inside homes while the killer Corona performed the death march all over Gods green and mans’ grey miles far and wide. Statistics of victims spiralled to millions. Was it the Apocalypse? Maybe it was and was it not an irony that the houses of all the Gods were out of mans’ reach thanks to distancing measures now? Yes, it was the Götterdämmerung – the dusk of the Gods- here I refer to humans, who thought of themselves as Gods- invincible. 

Doomsday Scenario during Pandemic 2020

In days, weeks, and the ongoing months the Corona pandemic gained momentum turning cities and villages alike into ghost towns, throwing life out of gear, and shutting down institutions in every manner. Economies went speedily on the downhill mode, and the world was staring at the worst depression since WORLD WAR II. We slowly began to fathom the economic, physical, and emotional impact of the pandemic and the worst fate that we were all destined to face in the days ahead. With no vaccine or medication, and clinical trials and experiments yet to bear results, the world stared at a doomsday scenario. 

Survival Measures during Pandemic 2020

Even as governments struggled with half baked measures to assure people of safety and hurried to put health measures into practice on a war footing, the killer claimed new territories and victims. Despairing multitudes everywhere struggled to survive with social distancing practises and masked themselves. Humanity looked towards the men and women in white for hope and health. How well we understood that Doctors were Gods now.

Virtual Connections, New Norms

The Coronavirus brought unprecedented changes- people switched over to a virtual way of life, education, communication, entertainment and consultations on health issues. Marriages and funerals services switched to the virtual model, and people attended funerals the same way.

Although the shutdowns helped curb the spread of the virus to a certain extent, it had its side effects. Lost jobs, financial crisis, business closures, layoffs and along with all that mental problems of anxiety, depression, behavioural changes and despair affected millions of people around the world. Life had changed forever. 

 The Earth Can Smile 

The likes of Greta Thunberg have been shouting at the top of their voice that human beings live well beyond natural boundaries, but we have largely ignored them. It took a deadly virus to show us that humans are indeed the root cause of the eco pollution. We saw the Earth smiling again as the flamingos gathered in flocks at hitherto abandoned waterholes. There was hope amidst despair when the freshwater bodies brought dolphins to sight. With air pollution decreasing, thanks to the shutdown of vehicles and factories, it was beautiful to see peacocks fanning their tails and painting the city skies.

The Choice is Ours

Can we let the traffic come to a standstill, and close shops and malls once in a while? The air could heal and become cleaner and healthier and the skies fresh with soothing colours each morning, can we? Do we not want the rivers to sparkle again, are we blind to the need for fresh air, and clean water?

Can we not see that we are doing it all wrong and destroying the only home we have? Is it too much to expect from the finest creation of God to seek solutions that ensure the simultaneous well-being of the economy and ecology? Or, are we going to be like ostriches and live a diminishing existence breathing poisoned air and drinking polluted water?

United We Stood 

We saw that wherever we had inexperienced responses from world leaders that ranged from measured to downright idiotic, the Coronavirus spread throughout and turned vibrant cities into ghost towns. Wherever people responded to the shutdown, it helped to finally snap the spread of the Coronavirus chain, like Bhilwara in Rajasthan, where people recovered rapidly. Therefore it is for us to understand that our survival in future exigencies depends on joint decisions. We cannot forget what we had learnt from Ebola, SARS, and MERS and now Corona. 

Cleanliness & Hygiene to fight pandemic 2020

 We understood only too clearly that cleanliness was indeed next to godliness. It was the hygiene measures that came in handy during the COVID-19 crisis. We knew this, but COVID-19 drove the truth home. If only we take a step ahead and keep the surroundings clean. If the spiralling sales of soaps and sanitisers were indications of humans discovering the value of basic rules of cleanliness, we have hope yet.

We Can Achieve Together.

From concentrated efforts on the green revolution to the eradication of Polio and massive sanitation measures, we have seen how a focused approach led to positive outcomes across the country. But we tend to forget to become cavalier in our attitude. So much so that when it comes to making resources available for social development, we follow the practice in Lilliputian steps.

We are too late, and we are behind in too many places in our own country. However, the COVID-19 outbreak has indeed shown that focused action can lead to high social impact in a short period. With the crisis in much control, what we should keep in mind and close to our conscience is not to go back to our philandering ways of social development. If we did, it would be like throwing away hard-earned life lessons of the pandemic 2020. 

Life lessons about basics.

 Come to think of it; I do not remember hearing or reading anywhere of people rushing to hoard gold, vehicles or such luxury items. It took a Pandemic 2020 to bring us back to basics only. Lockdown Days: Yes There is a Positive Face Throughout the total shutdown, what kept us going was the availability of food, water, shelter, communication, medicines and the internet. We realised, did we not, that the only necessities to live a good life were very basic? We indeed understood how fortunate we were to have food, shelter and a warm bed to rest. 

A time for leisure, hobbies

No, we cannot ignore the physiological and security needs that arose due to shutdowns and job losses. But we can also see that many have found ways to learn new skills or indulge in hobbies. Time which was a luxury before Corona virus erupted, was there in abundance now. Lockdown provided families and friends with the window to engage over video calls more often than they otherwise did! Despite the lockdown, we have discovered what matters to us. If only we do not waste this learning as we return to the daily circle of before pandemic 2020.

The Internet of Things is Possible.

Finally, we woke up to the many uses of the internet other than watching Netflix. Work from home became a real thing. IT companies demonstrated that you could be in a different continent and still enhance productivity. Before COVID entered our lives, industries hesitated to explore the wonders of telecommuting and remote working. They shied away from making a significant transition. However, we have discovered that WFH could work. But we need to update policies for security and business continuity. Then only we can hope that work-from-home, flexi-time and other such policies work.

Life Lessons on the need to upgrade medical capacities.

We do not need ultra-luxurious medical facilities. What we need is upgrading Medical capacities, especially in urban areas. Corona showed us that even most developed nations lag in their abilities to treat people. The Coronavirus Pandemic 2020 showed us brutally that we need to have an emergency contingent of reserve medical personnel. It would help alleviate the massive pressure on the healthcare industry as and when needed.

Governments woke up to the challenge.

Governments around the globe made concentrated efforts to implement several measures to enhance the capacity of tertiary medical caregivers to fight the pandemic 2020. They tried to get healthcare on wheels rolling. It was heartening to see retired but not practicing medical professionals returning to join medical systems to fight pandemic 2020. Our own country tapped into that base to tackle the pandemic 2020 effects. Despite hiccups and failures, the efforts were a success to an appreciable extent. Can we keep up the good work?

The Life Lessons On Global Connections.

COVID-19 outbreak and its rapid spread across nations within a record period showed important life lessons. It made us realise that we are interconnected. Studies prove that the transmission of the Coronavirus was unwittingly through people who got exposed to it. A global movement of people for business or pleasure facilitated the speedy spread and disastrous proportion of the Coronavirus. On the other hand, the internet kept the world informed about the status of the Coronavirus.

Sending Virtual Smiles during Pandemic 2020.

The internet connectivity has allowed people across nations to stay connected through Facetime calls, social media, and WhatsApp chats. In thousands of cases and Communities worldwide, the internet has helped to keep people smiling through the pandemic 2020.

Novel ways of connecting.

In the extremity of worldwide lockdown, communities found novel ways of connecting by lighting lamps, banging cymbals, and playing music on their balconies. Social media helped in streaming concerts, virtual meets, games and conferences. All this showed the importance of the life lessons on the human connection for our existence.

The Human Spirit and Pandemic 2020

Despite the despair all around, individuals across societies connected through Facebook groups to help lonely elders with getting daily needs requirements during the pandemic 2020. Thousands of examples show that people have gone out of their way to help house-help with no salary cuts. Individuals, organisations and governments took unprecedented steps to help people. Pandemic 2020 has also opened our eyes to the laudable work of our Corona warriors in white, men in uniform, sanitation workers and the media. Communities across the globe expressed gratitude towards them in public. 

Human lives matter not monetary gains 

As the contagion spread, world leaders chose to put humanity first and implemented a shutdown to stem the progress of pandemic 2020 further. It indicated that wealth could never rise above health and lives. Shall we hope then that with all the valuable lessons we learnt from this contagion during pandemic 2020, we might be able to fight others better? Can we now be more restrained in our activities and allow the Earth to breathe? Can we remain conscious of the need to maintain human connection and compassion and relations with our friends and family?

Let us Live Responsibly.

We have defeated the pandemic 2020 for good if we adopt the life lessons learnt from COVID-19. As we look towards hope, resurgence and continuity of life, let us make a resolution to live our lives with responsibility, compassion and joy in little things. Forgetting our responsibilities might result in the loss of life’s simple pleasures. It might mean large-scale loss of lives, and livelihood and bring an apocalypse much more devastating than pandemic 2020.