No doubt, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has a lot of dark sides. People around the world are getting ill, some die, schools are closed, the healthcare system is overloaded, daily wage earners are suffering from lack of money, companies are facing bankruptcy, stock markets are continuously collapsing and countries have to spend huge amounts on medical aid.
As rightly said, every coin has two sides. By this I only mean, finding the positive side of this crisis as an individual during 21-day of lockdown period imposed in India.
Below is my personal takeaway during this lockdown.
1. 24 hours a day is too much
I am sure before lockdown, each and every one of you must be complaining about a shortage of time which rather now seems too much.
All of a sudden social gatherings and other means of entertainment such as theatres, birthday parties, restaurant and bars, sports club, gymnasium, concerts and all that is more has been cancelled giving us a significant amount of time.
Life still moves on hassle-free without the need of so-called external aids.
This only proves how easy it is to clear our calendars to utilize time effectively.
2. Play-Pause-Relax principle
With the outbreak of the virus and lockdown, we have discovered the next level of connectivity.
Family members are now more connected to each other, spending time with parents, spouse and children. Connection with old friends and neighbours is now made possible which usually is avoided because of lack of time.
It only means we can put a pause to relax and spend time to feel connected with ourselves and our near and dear ones, later playback our normal routine.
3. Finding new ways – 1000Km Challange
I am a passionate runner and the current situation demanded me to stay at home. So, I thought of why not create a virtual challenge at home itself.
I quickly connected with my fellow mates who are keen about running just like me. For next 20 days I challenged them to walk 5 km every day at home. Hence even if each person will walk for 100 km in total, with a group of 10 people we can easily hit the milestone of 1000 km.
In no time, we created a group of 10-15 members to track progress and motivate each other. Till date, everyone is dedicatedly contributing by either walking at home or terrace or compound and we are on the way to create magical milestone during this corona days.
4. Anything is possible
The pandemic situation has forced many of us to break through the rigid systems and
Suddenly formalities and procedures are either skipped or accelerated, rules and regulations have been side-tracked and decisions are made more autonomously. Employees work from home without direct supervision. Schools are now more focused on providing online tutorials and coaching. People have started the following discipline by keeping a safe distance while buying groceries.
Was this ever imagined to happen? This has only made us realize, anything and everything is possible.
5. The feeling of Togetherness
It is not just me; it is we.
The feeling of we are together in this challenging time has taken deep roots in every individual with Italians singing together from their windows and balconies and Indians clapping and making noise out of vessels at the same time from their homes to salute doctors and each and every person working in the fight for COVID-19.
Besides, there are many small, local initiatives who are helping and connecting with needy.
6. Acceptance
Coronavirus has proved that no matter how well-planned and organized we are, no matter how much we live in the digital and advanced medical era, still, things are somehow unmanageable due to significantly large human impact.
Last but not the least, nothing will last forever.
Let’s all hope that this crisis will soon end and life will be back to normal.
By this post, I only urge my readers to be optimistic and face the situation. Please feel free to comment if you have more positive insights in addition to mentioned above.
Nice column, it gives great insight to change perspectives and attitudes in a seemingly difficult situation.