What was life like? Prior to this unprecedented pandemic, that caught us all off guard and unprepared.
What were we like? Prior to the shackles of this lockdown, that do not seem to be heading towards an end.
What did we do? Prior to becoming slaves to the outcome of our own making. Bearing the consequences of the justice to our own crimes.
What did normalcy look like? Prior to a dead halt to every functional engine running in our societies.
Where are we now? Amidst the world being in a passive chaotic state of lockdown from itself.
How are we reacting? To the changes that we never expected. To the changes that we thought never existed.
What does our current normalcy look like? With physical distancing beginning to look like lifestyle 2020.
Why is our generation going through this tormented reality? Despite being more advanced than any of our predecessors.
What is left for us in the future? With the very genetic DNA of our communities on the path of being rewritten.
Where do we see our future? With global economies crashing like never before.
What are we expecting from our lives? Once we believe the eye of the storm has passed.
Are we doing something? About the reason why we are where we are.
So many questions asked. So many answers expected.
Some from ourselves, some from others whom we have respected.
Truth be told, the times began changing way before COVID ever came into our lives.
The model of our existence was already on a path of reorganizing itself.
COVID just happened to be the trigger to our reality.
With our species being in a state of disbelief for way too long.
We were happy with what we were dreaming and achieving for ourselves. Nothing else mattered at all.
Multiply that close to 7 billion times. Now we have a plague like species entrapped in a bubble of selfishness, greed and ignorance.
So what happened?
Why did life have to change so abruptly? When everything seemed to be going so perfectly.
Why did the truth turn out to be so bitter? So much so that the idea of what to believe, was lost in a web of lies and fake stories.
Was it really necessary for this to become our reality? With lesser mercy and more Punishment in its course.
Have the lessons been learnt? With isolation and quarantine gifting us ample amount of time to re-evaluate our individual impact.
Let me craft this in the simplest way possible,
“We just could not be us anymore”
Nature wouldn’t allow it.
The balance of life couldn’t afford it.
Our lifestyles had become more toxic than ever before.
Our actions had lost reasons and their meaning had nothing in store.
Barely any of our efforts were beneficial to anybody but us.
Almost everything happening had accelerated global chaos and delayed individual responsibility.
Now there were a few things that went right.
Not everything we did was as bad as it got.
Our communities, though divided on most days found a common ground now and then to unite, irrespective of our foundational differences.
Perspectives such as sports, music, food and culture always found ways to unite us more often than we can appreciate.
Our Generation Y was always a step ahead in collaborative and humanitarian work than their fathers and forefathers.
Every generation of youth brought some more hope and prospect to our longevity. There was promise.
Having said that,
What was our past like? Founded on the things that had already happened.
What is our present turning out to be? Based on the things that have begun happening.
What could our future look like? Depending on what we are willing to do.
This is the perspective we need to evaluate. The broader understanding we need to fathom.
Work and Career
The trend suggests that we were all doing what we had to, to survive. But almost nobody was doing what we needed to, to call it a beautiful life. Our jobs and our lifestyles were tailored to the way most people were expected to do things. Overall creativity was low and creative voices were usually shut down under the pressure of achieving some form of success, which was almost always unguaranteed. Most people chose career options based on what was working in the competitive market and not what they truly wanted to do.
As we are now seeing, that will never be the same again. We are already witnessing an imbalance in the way jobs and career prospects are progressing. We cannot rely on pursuing the path that seems to be the norm anymore. The so called job security was never under as much threat as it is now. People have already begun evaluating their future options and preparing themselves based on assuming the worst potential outcomes.
Our future will now require us to be unique and determined. Same old, same gold will not work anymore. Although this is commonly said, going forward everybody needs to find their true passion, discover the happiness in what they desire to do and figure out a steady way to make positive lifestyle choices, that they can rely on Emotionally and Financially. Though many of us will resume life on the same pace if not lesser. Undoubtedly the risks have gone up in any and every type of work, and only the smart will prevail above the others. We will have to think beyond our 9 to 5 jobs more often, than we have. We will all have to innovate and think like entrepreneurs to be striving for more, in an attempt to enable us for more. Hence, ‘What’s new about you?’ and ‘What more can you do?’ are going to be more important questions than, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
Planning and Lifestyle
Speaking on a general basis, we were either under-planners or over-planners. Most of us were either super obsessive people, or carefree ‘come as they may’ kind of people. Many of us didn’t plan our finances well. Even at a more or less steady income, our unhealthy expenditure habits had forced us to behave with money in a hand to mouth fashion. Many of us didn’t even live a lifestyle where we could afford to plan for our financial future. Our lifestyle choices varied greatly. But in a general sense, the more unhappy people had more toxic lifestyles. They had an overall lack of planning in most of their choices and hence went through a more uncertain and stressful set of outcomes.
Enter COVID. Lifestyle choices took a major toll. Not just for the unhappy and unplanned set of people. But for everybody equally. However as we notice, the better planners have been mentally better prepared for tackling the challenges that have taken birth at the footstep of this pandemic. This is because they have already been training themselves to plan and manage their lives through the thick and thin of different challenges that have come their way. Now, even the people with usually unmanaged lifestyles are being forced to put some thought into architecting their lives and spending their money more wisely than before. The curb on even the most basic of necessities have made everyone realize the importance of integrating at least a small portion of planned lifestyle choices to support them in a near future, if not for their rainy days. The effects on an individual level are becoming more of a present reality, than a headache for another day.
How do you think this trend will alter over the course of our future? Well if not all, at least a good majority of people will now begin investing their efforts in planning for the future, and not just spending every penny in the present. People will have understood by now, the importance of being financially and mentally prepared for the worst of days. At least a few will actively involve themselves in spreading the word of basic financial and lifestyle management among the others. Those who take actions to improve their lifestyle will notice a visible improvement in their happiness, mentality and a sense of security.
Respect and Value
Although the innate nature of mutual respect and human value can vary from person to person, based on factors such as morality of upbringing and teachings of life. Generally speaking people didn’t have an egalitarian sense of respect for odd jobs and the people who were doing them. The idea of respecting every profession, understanding their usually undervalued contributions and often underestimated challenges was an idea in practice only by a few. Even though we were always dependent on such services, we never really considered them to be at par with our white collar jobs. Services such as housekeeping, delivery, manual labor, security services, hygiene and sanitation, although the functional pillars of our society, weren’t getting as much respect as they deserved.
The pandemic driven disruption brought with it something unexpected. Something socially challenging yet morally grounding. We have now found ourselves doing these very jobs day in and day out. Spending our time doing such odd job tasks has indeed made us realize the challenges and hardships in the simplest of things. Now that we are doing all of our maintenance tasks ourselves, we are oblivious to the fact that our hearts are going out to these unsung heroes in our lives, whose invaluable contributions keep the rest of us functioning in normalcy.
What we must do, is adopt a necessary social change in the future. We need to appreciate these people the next time we see or meet them, and eventually make it a habit into our lifestyles. We must strive to reach out to them on a more human level, and share our joy and smiles with them more consistently. We should support them in more ways than one, sometimes unconditionally.
Dreams and Destiny
We have always been wild dreamers, haven’t we? With an ambitious lot of dreams, a promising set of capabilities and an undying spirit to make them come true. Our destinies are almost always intertwined with our dreams and our efforts. Where we end up eventually, has got a lot to do with what our dreams are and how we achieve them. Hence, our destinies also end up being as wild as our dreams. Most of what we dreamt about always had ourselves in the center of our visual world. So much so that it almost felt like we were the physical center of the universe. Although it was not a bad thing to dream and work towards a future, with ourselves amidst the center of the foresight. It was not right to become totally unaware and unconcerned about anything else or anybody else. Most of our actions were meant to benefit only us. Most of our dreams has plans for nobody but us.
Now that our realities are changing. With it come prominent changes to our dreams as well. We have begun thinking outside our own bubble and have begun working more collaboratively, for our collective greater good. What we are accomplishing together, through trust, cooperation and concern is remarkable. Even during testing times such as now, with limited access to necessities, our primal human characteristic of survival in a group are kicking in. Even during war like aftermath situations like these, our efforts are becoming more synchronized. After all that’s what this pandemic is, isn’t it? A passive Cold War disrupting our lives. Not against a virus. Against our own prejudice.
As long as we continue thinking and collaborating with our fellow human beings and genuinely begin caring about each other, our future sees a better set of days ahead of us. Although the architecture of our ongoing social system may try to snap us back to the reality of our past. There will most likely be a significant change in our dreams and hence our intertwined destinies. Because that is what we all eventually are, a set of intertwined social beings.
Family and Friendships
Family has for long been an important part of life, and Friendships have always been a vital support system. Family dynamics have been as varied as they could get. Our mutual respect and mindset towards our families have always been changing. From childhood to adolescence. From adulthood to old age. A person’s interaction and comfort with their family members has always been changing. However, the advent of technology found a common ground among all ages. A rather negative set of bonding experiences, to be honest. Families that used to talk to each other and share their lives and their stories, turned into a group of individuals who used to sit together just for the sake of it, if lucky. Almost always unaware about anyone around them, they were hooked onto their respective devices, and it felt as though they just happened to be related to one another by chance. On the other hand, friendships were more or less a complex mixture of people, egos, pride and secrecy. We knew many people, we would hang out with a great lot of them, but could barely ever count on anyone, if any. Some friendship lasted the test of time and blossomed into a beautiful bonding for a lifetime. But most relations were just a layer of fake happy faces, over egoistic, unhappy and hateful emotions. Friendships were no longer about getting the best out of each other, but rather what best we could obtain from one another.
Quarantine got us in a tricky way. Now that we are all handicapped from doing what we usually did in our busy lives, our technology filled days have started getting too redundant and too monotonous. We have in a way been forced out of these existing robotic habits, and forced into exploring the world outside the real estate of our phones. Very few of us will be willing to admit, that there is a sense of freedom in this new way of life. Lesser technology has given us more time, for so many more innovative and creative activities. Our friendships have evolved. We have found the pace to understand who among our lists are the ones we can really depend on, and who honestly care to see us grow as good human beings beyond all odds. Who are the ones truly trying to push us to be better than everybody else, and who are the ones that are willing to be a part of our lives unconditionally.
The way our varied many futures regarding our families and friendships could pan out are hard to summarize, due to the ever changing mutual nature of emotions that are very uncertain and depend greatly on unexpected experiences. But there are a couple of takeaways from what we have learnt. We need to be more emotionally and physically invested with our loved ones, as families. Many of us have already seen a massive change in our emotional and mental happiness, when we share happy times with our families. Hence, at least a good number of us will strive to keep at it. Our friend circles will have probably become smaller due to limited interactions, but mean much more than before. The idea of going through a traumatizing experience such as this together, with the select few in our prayers, will strengthen our existing bonds and help us become stronger individuals. With this, there is also an optimistic opportunity to forget the existing disagreements of the past and be more accepting towards everyone else in the future.
Wealth and Luxury
Some people are materialistically wealthy. Some have a wealth of mesmerizing qualities. There are also a few who are at a balance between the two. In the general sense though, wealth is evaluated in the form of material possessions. Globally there have been a good number of people who make enough money to afford fantasies and extravagant luxuries in life. Now there is nothing wrong about pleasing ourselves with what we have achieved and obtained in life. But on the spiritual and moral grounds if we have been blessed with more than we need, we should look to help those less fortunate than us. That is the key to balance of all life. Although there have been a good few people who have had a good generosity quotient, there have also been quite a lot of us who have been greedy and stingy or even proud about our possessions. People would rather spend millions of dollars on an overvalued article of statutory significance, instead of taking the opportunity to help those who were barely blessed with a meal a day. Our money and possessions had become so valuable to us. That we forgot that it is after all a disposable commodity. That it is something which cannot last forever. Many of us used to behave as though it would help us even beyond our eventual death. The good that could have been done with the aid of money was not even close to how much was coming out of it.
Our wealth and our expenditures have seen an abrupt and unplanned shift in recent days. Many of our wealthy brothers and sisters cannot spend their money on quite a few of their fantasies now, even if they wanted to. So many of us, who can make a difference, have begun making a difference. Donations, Charity and Financial aid. Such things are on a record high. Not because we have nowhere else to spend it on. But because so many of us have realized that the true potential and impact of the help that can be provided, if we are voluntarily willing to provide it, can be of a great benefit to so many. This change is certainly heading towards a better humanity.
Although the impact of such a shutdown will cause a lot of monetary and economic damage to many wealthy people and various established businesses, at various levels of impact. The conscience of providing if you can provide, helping others if you have the capacity for it, is a learning which is priceless. Although the economic crunch will tie many of our hands and may not enable us to be of humanitarian service for too long. But at least our takeaway from these events will see us in a good light, with a better future to aim for.
Religion and Spirituality
Faith has always been our driving force since the inception of mankind. All most every one of us have come from religious backgrounds which have inclined to one faith or another, even though we may choose to think differently now. Our belief in the ideological concept of God varies vastly. However, the core teachings have always been one, despite what we may choose to follow. Every religion has taught peace. Every faith has preached about the triumph of good over evil. Every belief has encouraged the practice of the virtues of Courage, Freedom and Patience. Every system has promoted the foundation of holding onto your own faith, while being able to unjudgementally acknowledge the others. But the sad truth lies in the fact that, most people have always overlooked such structural teachings from their very belief system they try to defend so bravely. Religious tolerance was very often found on thin ice, as the qualities of patience and liberalism were found only in a very few. In fact some of our mindset’s had reached a boiling point of hate towards a fellow spiritual faith. This had become a very dangerous time, with people holding onto an unhealthy levels of religious xenophobia.
Our present days are showing us much more promise towards unity. Not just triggered due to COVID, but as a mindset shift in the present generation as a whole. Our children and their generational kind are born into a broad and accepting mindset. Religious extremism is a concept they do not understand. We are seeing this young generation fighting for the rights of one another, being in a more harmonious sense of mind. Spreading the values of equality and spiritual tolerance. Adding to this our present COVID scenario has helped us promote these positive social opportunities. Many of us who were from ignorant backgrounds are learning to share and adapt to our differences in this progressive world.
It is tough to predict the future possibilities on religious and spiritual grounds. This is not due to the false notion of faith being a divider of humanity, but because what we end up grasping is a wrong interpretation of being a believer in our own ideology. What we can however guarantee, should we maintain our growing sense of acceptance and tolerance is, that we can see a spiritually united race of species. United in the purpose of moving forward together. United in the spirit of leaving nobody behind.
Patriotism and Culture
Motherland has always been a practically big deal for us all. It is quite literally a definitive part of our very own identities. The perception people hold to quite a few of our own personality traits are often already framed based on where we come from, even before any real interaction takes place at all. Hence, it has always had a silent impact on our thoughts and actions. Most of us have always had an undying love and connection to our countries, due to its familiarity, comfort and a sense of belonging. But many of us have historically been taking a negative advantage of such privileges. As nations have always been in a state of Cold War with each other, we would end up finding ourselves inspired in a very obnoxious and unpleasant mentality, in most cases for the wrong reasons. Although it was important that our own country did well, very often we found ourselves praying for someone else’s fall, rather than our own growth. Cultural perspectives have always been driven around religion. Customs and traditions have been a major part of all our lives. However, as the global effect on our spiritual differences grew, so did our cultural differences. Culturally different people though naturally more comfortable with their own kind, found it really hard to accept, or even help those coming from the opposite side. Cultural hatred was also a concept on a steady rise.
Our patriotic and cultural reality has seen a very necessary shift during this phase. Countries that were occasionally dependent on each other, are now seeing more interdependence on each other. We have realized that though we could consider ourselves to be self-reliant. In many situations it turns out to be a wise decision to work together in harmony, for collective growth. Our patriotism is evolving from us being proud in our possessions, to being proud in what we can share. Cultural barriers are being broken more than ever, with help coming and going in all directions. Governments of the world have become more concerned and caring about their citizens. National concerns have become a reality. There is a larger sense of collective responsibility, now more than ever.
The coming days are going to be a real test to our resilience in being responsible and cooperative. It is going to be a test for our national and international unity, during the times of crises. Our collective yet individual actions will be responsible for how our future turns out. Even though cultural and political differences will exist, as these are foundations that aren’t going anywhere soon. Our eventual codependency will play an important role in realizing our collective survival.
Celebration and Festivities
We have always been social beings, who take pride in what we do and celebrate our achievements. Sometimes our celebrations are a result of an accomplishment. Sometimes they are indebted to a cultural or religious tradition. Either way the idea of recognizing and celebrating the things that we appreciate has always been a core human characteristic. Our festivities are usually driven by love and acceptance, inspiring a sense of happiness and unity. We have always had a good mindset towards sharing joy and happiness during our celebrations. Sometimes even to the point where we are willing to give up on our personal feuds and disagreements, in an effort to put the past behind us.
The pandemic brought with it an indefinite cease on our shared moments. Joyous occasions such as parties, festivals and traditional celebrations are seeing a temporary lockdown in themselves. However, as a community we have been trying our best to find a workaround to these unexpected changes and make the most of what we have got. Surprisingly enough, we have done a very good job at this, considering the lack of resources and an overall low morale. We need a pat on our backs for this.
There is no doubt that should we continue spreading love and sharing happiness on unbiased grounds, without the barrier of our perceptions and our differences, we will continue to get better at our human relations. This could potentially help us to do better in other parts of life as well. Pulling us out of wrong social and political stigmas.
Sports and Entertainment
Who doesn’t like sports? Almost all of us have had an inclination to one sport or the other, at one point of time or another. Even though some of us may not play any, the simple feeling of joy, excitement and belonging with respect to a sport is an emotion strong enough. Entertainment has been a core recreation for longer than we can imagine. The idea of being able to engage the attention and emotions of a group of like minded people has a power of its own. Entertainment arts has been an industry with a diversity like no other. Putting the impact of Sports and Entertainment together, we can clearly see how influential and productive it has been. It has the power to unite people with any and all religious, cultural, political and stereotypical backgrounds, to a single cause. Sports personalities and Superstars are celebrated individuals not just in their respective nations, but also internationally. Unity in diversity could not have been more beautifully captured than this.
However, the advent of COVID has impacted the industry of sports and entertainment in one of the most disheartening ways. There are very minimal ongoing activities, if any. Distancing due to healthcare concerns have caused most of the scheduled activities to be postponed or cancelled all together, as a majority of these creative arts involve close human contact as a part of their craft. This did not stop us though. Our love for the craft and a commitment to overcome obstacles prevail above all. As, at the core of it all, such activities teach us the importance of fighting through all odds, to prevail above challenges. We are finding new and innovative ways to keep the community together. Our efforts have gone the extra mile to bind us all together through perseverance and faith. Sportsmen have found engaging virtual challenges and activities to keep their fans alive and kicking. The Entertainment industry has found a new and smarter life on the leading streaming platforms of today. Creative media is exploring virtual interaction in full swing.
As we head to the future, we can take a lot of learning form the various hardships that we have faced during these challenging times. Not just about our creative ability and our approach to obstacles in life, but also the values of determination, commitment and above all, our service to each other. Although these have generally been founding pillars of the world of Sports and Entertainment, there is always a scope for improvement in our efforts.
Safety and Healthcare
Healthcare is an aspect of paramount importance in our lives. However, it needs to be a compulsion, not an option. It has historically always been guided by a number of underlying factors, such as, culture, habits, age and finances. Our individual healthcare efforts, whether it be basic sanitation or extensive healthcare plans have largely been a matter of concern throughout. Although the recent past brought with it an in-depth awareness and social concern about health and hygiene. The idea of basic sanitation in developing and underdeveloped countries was still a far fetched concept among the masses. Safety in the form of personal and financial security, along with efforts to future proof ourselves have for long been a very concerning topic for the most of us. How prepared are we to tackle an unexpected event? Such thoughts have always pondered over our minds for long.
As we go through these unexpected times, we have seen a drastic change to our collective mindset regarding healthcare and its importance in our interactive societies. The Rich and the Poor alike. We have all realized the need of cleanliness and hygiene, to improve not just our own lives, but also our families and everyone else in a broader sense as well. If there’s one guaranteed learning that we have all gained in the fight against this pandemic, it is the value of taking healthcare seriously. The current efforts to sanitation and decontamination of even the most basic things shows how serious we are regarding public health and safety. The safety of not just our material and statutory possessions, but also of our undoubtedly most undervalued personal possession among a pile of material possessions, our lives.
Although the future is very unpredictable, as we are very profoundly seeing these days. The importance of good hygiene and healthcare will never run out of need. It is a basic lifestyle that must be adopted extensively, at all levels of society. Having gone through such a catastrophic situation in life, with factors owing largely to healthcare and hygiene, the global shift of mindset towards better safety and healthcare efforts have been very practically understood. There aren’t many learnings in our lives that we can admit to having learnt with such a real life cause and effect example as this.
Food and Hospitality
We all love food, don’t we? Some of us prefer exotic foods from French or Italian cuisines. Whereas some of us like something as simple as a homemade quick bite. But it does entice us all, no matter where we come from. Food has always been an important part of culture and tradition. Our eating trends and food choices have always been predominantly guided by our lifestyles, our geographic locations and our explorative desires. Hospitality is something which can either be treated as a gesture or a profession. Either way it has always got a lot to do with culture and a sense of service towards someone else. Food and hospitality have together been a widely celebrated part of any cultural or national pride. Some cultures have spread worldwide over the ages, to become globally appreciated brands with iconic food and hospitality standards. Some remain exclusively local to a particular area.
The advent of this pandemic has affected the spirit of food and hospitality in more ways than one. On one hand we can agree that due the restrictions on travel and human engagement the business side of things have been affected severely. There have been devastating effects on hospitality services such as hotels, resorts and parks. Local and international food businesses have also taken a major hit in terms of sales and revenue. But on the other hand, when we talk about the spirit of exploring and learning new things, we have begun to independently explore new ideas and recipes. With large amounts of free time, quite a lot of us have taken to cooking new things at which we may not have tried a hand at before. Though hospitality services have taken a major blow, they are far from over. In fact a few of the hotel setups have been gracious enough to provide their resources as an aid to the patients and recovery programs of the pandemic.
Food and hospitality will never go out of fashion. People will always be an active part of food communities. Hospitality will eventually come up to speed and things will turn to normal again, as people will want to resume not just their work lives, but also their recreational lives. Though it may affect some people differently. With the more paranoid people avoiding social life for quite some time. There is no doubt that socially uniting elements such as these will never cease to exist.
Learning and Education
Education, the foundational block of progressing communities and countries, has for the longest time been an institution of change and improvement around the world. To impart education is more than just to share knowledge and intellect. It is more importantly a medium to inculcate values like dedication and passion, as well as mold human characteristics such as empathy and respect. The education industry has been one of the leading sectors of global impact across the globe. People of all financial and social backgrounds have always invested big bucks to secure the best of knowledge from the finest of institutions, for themselves and their children. There has always been a sense of pride and honor to be associated with the biggest of names, from the world of learning and research. Now, learning isn’t only restricted to a classroom environment. As we are all very well aware, few of the biggest inventors, entrepreneurs, thinkers and businessmen of the world have gone down in history with a very basic background of corporate education, but a desire and hunger to explore like none other. Their sheer relentless attitude to find out the ‘Why’ and the ‘How’ has been more of a driving factor to them, than anything else.
The pandemic driven disruption to the world brought about many challenges. One of the major ones has undoubtedly been the world of education. The impact of the global lockdown has been mentally and physically straining students and teachers from all streams. The core aspect of human interaction and face to face communication was stripped away, even though in a wide number of cases it is a basic requirement. However, working together, with determination and purpose we have found newer ways to communicate and impart knowledge thorough the means of virtual classrooms and an interconnected world of smart devices. We are witnessing an increased number of people opting for courses being conducted virtually. Such a trend is gaining momentum on the globally egalitarian platform called the Internet. The internet has become our first and last resort to information and knowledge. Not only now, but it has been such from a recent couple of years.
The future and its vision has a lot to do with the education and learning of our today. The products of our tomorrow are designed and developed in our today. Hence, the adversity of the impact on the future of education, learning and growth will probably be the least among most things affected. We have already adopted teaching and learning methods of the future. If the pandemic has really done something, it has brought us the teaching of our tomorrow, today. With such a mindset of growth and progress, there is no doubt that our future will see greater things than we have imagined.
Business and E-commerce
Business has always been a part of life, either professionally or just on a day to day scale. Each one of us has at one point or another been exposed to some form of business in our lives. We have either worked as professional business men and women, or have just had casual transactions in the form of trade, purchase or sale. Businesses grow out to become worldwide brands with reputation and standards to maintain. With this comes the management of sales and revenue on multiple levels. Factors such as product quality, reputation, and a skill at sales prove to be a game changer in the market. Historically, trade and business have predominantly been a face to face affair. However, in the recent few years due to the advent of technology and virtual consumerism, the business model in most sectors has evolved to incorporate e-commerce and online services. This proved to be a game changer in the way business was perceived. With a heightened sense of possibilities and a grand scheme of ideas.
Business of each and every kind has been affected by the spread of this virus, and the precautionary measures that we took. Large number of conglomerates have been bearing heavy losses and financial debts due to lack of steady incoming revenue. A number of businesses are going into an indefinite freeze, with quite a few of them finding themselves forced to lay off their employees as a last resort. Despite the tough times, there have been a good majority of businesses and business owners that have taken essential decisions to safeguard their resources and protect the jobs that their employees hold. Online retail and e-commerce has been a boon to most businesses. The idea of minimal contact experiences is a trend that can be fairly ease to implement on web based platforms. Many collaborations have birthed over the idea of minimizing the impact, and preparing ourselves to kick start our economies once the situation has passed. The determination and resilience is inspiring.
It is very evident that the impact to different business setups has been different. Some are barely holding on, whereas some are doing okay. Some have no means to revive themselves from their demise, whereas some can boost not just themselves but others as well. So it is safe to assume that most businesses will bounce back one way or another. There may be a few of them that we will not see again. But there will also be quite a few new businesses that will have been born out of the impact of COVID. It will take time. The process will be a challenge. But it is going to be a world full of possibilities.
Travel and Exploration
What do humans do, if not travel? Not just as explorers, but even in the sense of progress in life. Travel and movement have for long been a part of our very DNA. Movement from one place to the other, from one phase of life to another, is as natural a process as it gets. Some people travel for professional reasons due to changing opportunities and demands of their professional and personal lives. Whereas, some people are considered as travelers on the grounds of Tourism and Exploration. Tourist destinations and the wonders of the world have for long been an attraction like no other. Governments of the world have often spent a sizeable amount on up-keeping, advertising and promoting tourism of their respective nations. Some people take up explorative fields such as archaeology or photography. Whereas, some of us become travelers as a byproduct of a greater career prospect. Whether it be travelling from one city to another, or just from our homes to the nearest Starbucks. Air travel across the Pacific, or a cab ride across town. Cycling on a peaceful country road, or trekking an enchanting mountain side. Travel is the name of not just physical displacement, but also emotional movement. The emotional relevance of what you do. However, in the general sense travel and exploration have truthfully been one of the oldest practices worldwide.
If there is one thing that the lockdown and quarantining measures can be directly related to, it is the simple understanding of restrictions on travel and movement. Hence, the effects on tourism and interrelated industries have been more than just a dent in their sustainability and stability. The destructive impact on the world of tourism and travel cannot be considered less than a calamity. Businesses have shut down because tourism was their bread and butter. Companies have entered dangerous levels of financial instability, or even bankruptcy because their revenue model involved an aspect of travel. Nature and travel explorers have been craving to get back to travelling and uncover more of what life and nature has to offer.
It is hard to predict how soon life will get back to normal post COVID. We cannot exactly estimate how long it will take to resume travel, not just professionally, but also as travel enthusiasts. The research, production and distribution of vaccines and drugs will play a major role in determining this timeline. In fact not just related to travel, but most of the other affected aspects as well.
Nature and Ecology
We can all agree that for the most part of it, we have not done a good job in this sector of life. Preserving the ecology and maintaining the balance in nature wasn’t something we managed well. Most of our actions had end up resulting in damages to nature rather than benefits. Our scramble for money, status and power left us blind to the side effects of our pursuits on our very surroundings. What we achieved was more important that how we achieved it. What we gained was more important than how we affected everything else. It was more about securing ‘my’ future, than securing ‘our’ future. We had end up polluting our resources such as air and water beyond the limit of recovery. Hence we had already begun paying a heavy price for such actions, way before the pandemic boomed. The effects of environmental issues were already panning out to be larger than any of us had imagined, or were ready to accept.
The lockdown has surely helped us realize this to a great extent. The effects of just a few days of peace and reduced pollution have already begun showing its positive outcome. The skies are clearer, the air is fresher. The days are brighter, the waters are sweater. Just a few days of restructuring our lifestyle has already made such a visible change in everything around us. So much so that our own self conscience feels guilty of our actions and the ill effects of our lifestyles. Although some set of damages cannot be reversed, there are still a plenty lot of things we can change. Starting today.
In our eminent future, we have got to be more responsible, more careful and healthier to our environment. It is without a doubt going to be one of the core challenges of our future. We have already been on the path of ecological imbalance for so long, that many reports predict the inevitable natural desolation sooner than later. Now that we have already seen the differences our lifestyle makes, we shouldn’t have any reasons to defend our taxing lifestyle choices. We need to be better, for ourselves, for our kids and for our collective future. No negligence can be bearable any further. Many of our young generation adults will take up awareness and ecological justice initiatives, for sure. But it needs to be a collective effort, by people from all factions of society. The Rich and the poor alike.
Mental and Physical Health
This is probably a topic that has seen more damage than reform. But there are key things we can learn from it. Mental health is a very important aspect of soulful peace. Mental hardships and challenges have for the longest of time been disregarded as an essential factor to tranquility. We have largely ignored the affect an unstable and troubled mind can have on a person. Although the voices against the oppression of mental well-being had begun rising during our recent past. The impact had not been realized on a global front. Most developing and rather under developed countries did not regard mental health as a priority. Physical health, though varied from person to person has had a fairly steady significance throughout our historical past. Although it has been largely accepted as a core everyday item for our overall stability. Unhealthy lifestyles and careless actions had seen this neglected in most of our lives.
As the days of our restricted lifestyles began unfolding in full swing. Our need for a mental and physical stability is being realized on a mammoth scale. We have now begun experiencing isolation induced negative mental health issues commonly. Our innate trait of being a social being is being challenged here. Physical restrictions have begun playing their own role in our health. Social distancing and lack of movement are having an adverse effect on most of us. However, our undying spirit to be of service to our community, in finding innovative and practical ways to help each other virtually is commendable. With healthcare and technology domain experts that have already teamed up towards a common goal of maintaining stability in global human health, nothing is impossible today.
We need to carry on our undying commitment to not just our community, but also ourselves. Should such a phenomenon ever occur again, we need to be stronger mentally and physically, in unity. Should we ever find ourselves in such a traumatic experience again, we need to be prepared to do what it takes to fight back, while maintaining our sense of inner peace.
As we see, there is so much that has happened since COVID happened. And so much that had begun happening before its premise.
Things have changed since we last saw each other. Things have evolved since we last met each other.
Now keep in mind that though these changes are just a generalization of most of the prominent things that have been affected by this virus, there are other abundantly vast sections of society that have been affected by the outbreak of this virus as well.
Just like the different things that are affected, there are also different people who could have been affected differently. It is essential to understand that any idea or outcome comes with its own fair share of outliers.
There has been a Social and Foundational shift in our communities. Most of us have already felt this in one way or the other. Some have felt it mentally. Some have felt it spiritually. But we have all been undergoing a global change that is affecting everybody. Very rarely has anyone ever gone through such a catastrophic experience, let alone going through it together. Not just in our times, but throughout the course of history. The visual impact on every nation and individual has been no less than the aftermath of a potential World War, wouldn’t you agree?
Lockdown and Isolation has taught us a lot about our mistakes and a prospective solution to our future. But due to the sheer magnitude and timeframe of this pandemic, it has also been altering a lot of subconscious human perceptions. Reforming a lot of our mindsets.
Having said this, it is completely fine if there have been a set of people who could not pull themselves through this pandemic with positivity and progress. There may have been a good number of people who are barely hanging on to the emotional trauma that such an event can cause. That is completely ok as well. We are all differently made, and differently enabled.
Some are stronger, some are not.
Some can inspire, some cannot.
Some are leaders, some are not.
Some can impact, some cannot.
We are different in our ways of life, but similar in our humanity.
Regardless of which faction of the species you hail from. You need to know that it’s ok to be different, it’s ok to be you.
We need to believe that things will get better. They are going to be better. And eventually when they do, we need to be ready to seize our lives, and get back on track. Isolation has given us the time, to think, to detox and to plan our lives. But this comes with a risk of us becoming too comfortable with this lifestyle. We may have gotten so comfortable with it, that we may start finding it troublesome to pull us out of this passive and stationary lifestyle.
Know that this is temporary. Life will get back to normal. Probably a new normal. But this will pass.
Now that we are in the stages of dealing with recovery and recuperation, we need to align our lives with our goals. Not just our own professional goals. But also our collective goals.
What can we expect once things begin returning to normal?
What will we notice in ourselves beyond this darkest hour?
For starters, people from all factions of society will have become more aware. Awareness among people not just regarding their health and hygiene, but also about themselves.
We can expect more unity in our thought and lesser disputes over trivial things that do not even matter in the larger perspective of things.
We can expect something as light hearted as a stranger offering you some hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes as a sign of social courtesy.
There is a great promise in expecting and realizing a better future than what we could have imagined just a few months back.
There is much we have learnt, and much that we are yet to learn.
There is lots we have done, and there is a lot that we are yet to do.
There is so much we have learnt about what we are privileged with.
There is so much we have realized about what we are responsible for.
Maybe all that we need is a little more Awareness and Acceptance.
Maybe all that we need is a little more Empathy and Gratitude.
Maybe all that we need is a little more Love and Kindness.
Maybe all that we need is a little more Humanity.
All things eventually pointing to-
‘Why we could not be us anymore’
Noman Paul
2020
