Like everything else in nature the Coronavirus pandemic too will pass. And when it does, we will be left with a few reminders.
Maybe we will realize that we humans are vulnerable and vincible. What we stop, the rest of nature will take over and reclaim very quickly. Perhaps that will remind us of our real place as just yet another species in a complex ecosystem.
Maybe we will learn to accept that we do not need to travel as much, commute to work as much to be productive. Employers may also realize that many things can be done virtually for cheaper and more effectively. Perhaps that will motivate an everyday lifestyle that is less environmentally invasive than it is now.
Maybe we will remember as a society to question greed. We will perhaps learn to ask why someone needs a 165-room mansion or a billion dollar house- when the bigger reason for difference during disaster lay on the millions of unsung heroes who removed our trash, kept our lights burning and our internet working, who cared for our sick, raced the clock to develop cures, and kept us fed and safe during our darkest hours.
Maybe we will learn to be grateful for the things we have received. Even if we experienced imaginary scarcity of goods and services, it perhaps would have helped us wonder where the many things we take for granted come from. And then maybe we will savor our gifts more.
Maybe we will learn to embrace the beauty of silence. Maybe we will learn to give permission to sit, wait, listen and to be in peace with ourselves.
Maybe we will learn to strengthen the relationships we have been blessed with. Perhaps we will call those people who have been painted invisible by our pace of living. Maybe we will end up with greater connection and deeper appreciation of friendships.
Maybe we will realize that what carried us through the pandemic was not rolls of toilet paper but our collective humanity and our human compassion.
Maybe we will realize that in the natural order of things, this pandemic is a comma that delays the sentence before the period. Perhaps we will watch the earth heal before our eyes and realize that we are rushing to our planet’s demise with unwarranted haste. Then we will learn to slow down and coexist with the only planet we have been given.
Maybe we will realize that a $40-trillion stockpile of arms is not as smart an investment as that much in education, health infrastructure and science.
Maybe we will realize that international collaboration and cooperation trump patriotic bravado and power mongering.
Maybe we will realize that what carried us through the pandemic was not rolls of toilet paper but our collective humanity and our human compassion.
Just Maybe…