There’s nothing good in fact only on fear when it comes to thinking about COVID-19, for the obvious reasons- loss of a humungous number of innocent lives and the mentor terror. But when we are destined to go through this fate, let us consider this outbreak as a learning opportunity to reset, remember and reflect.
If we believe life works in a cycle and everything happens for a reason, then we could conclude that Mother Earth has its way of slowing us down and all of it is interconnected. Due to our fast-paced consumerism, we want to eat more eat fast, earn more earn fast, grow more grow fast. As humans we are smitten with desire, hunger, ambition and the all-time strange fear of losing out, missing out. We as crafters of alluring brands are guilty of providing space to this never satiating thirst, triggering this long chain of consumerism that goes back to our fast-depleting natural resources. As the world struggles to cope with Coronavirus and its post-effects on human life, our economies and our pace to chase has to be pondered over.
The crisis is accelerating working from home (less commution=less pollution), less air travel leading to a greener footprint, reconnecting to family, facing our mortality i.e. not just working but refocussing on living and washing our hands- how did that become a new thing that we needed to remember.
Also, there is a bigger picture we cannot miss amidst the tension of COVID-19. There is no news about cross border terrorism, nobody cares anymore about colour, caste or religion as neither does the virus. Japan had donated relief supplies boxes to China in February and extended heartfelt support by writing – “Mountain, River, Different, Areas/ Wind, Moon, Same, Sky (Even though we live in different places, we live under the same sky)” on the boxes (Hirai, 2020).
China carried forward the kindness and sent relief supplies boxes to Italy in March and wrote lines of a Roman poem – “We are waves from the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden.” It’s as if the whole world has come together to fight one common enemy, the Coronavirus. This proves again how fragile and vulnerable our existence is. This proves that to survive and sustain our existence we will eventually have to come together.
According to Yuval Noah Harari, “In this moment of crisis, the crucial struggle takes place within humanity itself. If this epidemic results in greater disunity and mistrust among humans, it will be the virus’s greatest victory. When humans squabble – viruses double. In contrast, if the epidemic results in closer global cooperation, it will be a victory not only against the Coronavirus but against all future pathogens.” (Harari, 2020)
LSME cares about the wellbeing and has taken steps to ensure the students and staff do not suffer. We have moved our teaching learning to an online interactive platform and we are making great strides in making this platform a formidable alternative to face-to-face learning as well as an enjoyable learning experience for the students.
Humankind is facing a global crisis. The choices we make today will have an impact on the generations to come. It is important to remember we all act like we have control over everything in our lives while the eternal truth is that we don’t have any. So let the epidemic of Coronavirus be a reminder for all of us that we may have to sit back and reflect; this is a call to all of us to see what matters most in life and be human, unite, connect and support each other and be grateful for the beautiful gift of life.
May COVID-19 help us find a way to better living and a more meaningful life! This too shall pass; together lets pull ourselves out of this storm.
Signing off with the quote by James Baldwin that we are pondering over- “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
References
Harari, Y. N., 2020. time.com. [Online]
Available at: https://time.com/5803225/yuval-noah-harari-coronavirus-humanity-leadership/
[Accessed 17 March 2020].
Hirai, Y., 2020. Asahi. [Online]
Available at: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13124309
[Accessed 17 March 2020].