Social distancing is daunting, disheartening, and sometimes horrifying. The thought of being alone is unsettling, and loneliness could strike anytime. Being confined in your homefor an uncertain time could result in depressive emotion as a result of being alone.
There will be days when we can’t fake our feelings and say we are perfectly okay, and weare coping. That horrible feeling must come out one way or another.
I don’t know but, to many, this is what they exactly feel…
Hiding from coronavirus
Hmm, I haven’t seen the postie lately.Who am I going to chase now?
Oh great! I have already watched everything on Netflix. What am I going to do now?
I remember when I was young when I could barely reach the kitchen sink. I would stand on my toes, reaching for the soap and water to wash my hands. This is the first thing I learned in my childhood-washing my hands properly.
Now, we seemed to have forgotten how to wash our hands properly. The fundamental necessity to save our lives and others is a simple act of washing hands.
I don’t remember anymore the number of times I have washed my hands in a day. It is beginning to dry my skin. Sooner or later, our pharmaceutical companies will need to produce hand lotions or hand creams to treat skin dermatitis.
But that is the least of our problem now.
We are facing challenging times right now. We are scared, confused and angry.
When I used the slogan on my website, “We exist to rise up and grow” as the central theme of what all my writing is going to be, I didn’t think that one day I would be asking myself why I used this theme.
Our existence into this world is put into test. How we respond to adversity and challenges are being tested right now.
If we rise to the occasion or we crumble into pieces, we will never be able to hide it anymore. It will show who we are and what we are made of.
Some will show their real colours, and the good and the bad in all of us will appear.
Leaders will exhibit their leadership ability, and unwilling followers will display their individualistic behaviour. The others will fully cooperate and sometimes offer to help, while, there would be those who will exaggerate and push their own opinion.
We are confused because we hear different stories, and we are continually being told numerous instructions on what to do.
We are scared because we do not know how long it will last and we are afraid for our own safety and the safety of our loved ones.
Our livelihood is being threatened. We are scared to lose what we worked so hard for so many years, and then be taken away from us.
We are angry about why it must happen, and we are mad with the world.
Illustration By: Nathan May
Our anger should not be focused on others who are trying to live their lives to the best of their abilities. It is not our place to question their faith if it is the only thing that gives them strength and hope, and a feeling of security. Just like you and me and everyone else, it is their right to have faith and belief in a Devine power, which is the only thing that will give them the will to survive.
It is okay not to believe. It is perfectly understandable to put one’s faith to a Supreme power to lift your spirit and strengthen your hope and your will to survive. Let us respect everyone’s faith and belief. That is all we’ve got now.
We are not alone, and we all have dreams and purpose of living. Let us serve our purpose in life and do our best all the time.
We become prisoners in our own home, and we spent a lot of time being alone.
We dreaded going to work, and now, we lost what provides for our living.
There will be days when our hopes would be shattered. We lose focus on allowing ourselves to have the emotion and at the same time, to be supportive to our friends and family.
We exist to learn.
There is so much noise around us. It’s everywhere, and all over the place, it’s the whole world.
It is not a noise of conflict or war. It’s a cry for help to be together as one and fight this disease that is crippling the universe.
Suddenly, the unpleasant noise of conflict and war silenced us. Every nation in the world had forgotten what they were fighting for before it all happened.
We learned to forgo arrogance, the race to power, who is reliable and who is not. It’s all because we are fighting one and the same war – the war to eradicate coronavirus, immediately and for good.
Our life became a tight race. This disease knows no boundaries. It doesn’t discriminate, and it has no time limits.
We learned that human activities have contributed to this problem. There is no need to blame each other now or point the finger at anybody. We are all accountable, directly or indirectly.
We learned that the Earth doesn’t belong to us. It is our home and home for every living creatures – in land, water and air.
But for us, human beings forgot all of that. Instead, we crossed the boundaries. Dictated by greed and selfishness, those that should be left alone were disturbed and taken away from their habitat and food supply.
We disturbed what is in the air, the land and in water.
We will get through this. We will survive, and we will get better, but it will leave a mark that will reside in the deepest core of our hearts. It will heal, but it will always be sore to touch. It will become a constant reminder of outlining our journey.
We exist to learn and grow. Part of growing up is learning to co-exist with every living thing here on Earth. A million pieces of lives will cover the distance to get us to the finish line. Yet, the race may be just beginning.
What is important now and what counts the most is our attitude and our behaviour towards one another.
Give due respect and help those who need it most. We all deserve a place here on Earth, big or small, and every living thing.
For regardless of today, there will always be tomorrow to look forward to.
Till next time. Take care of each other and love one another.
I would like to take a short break from my usual routine of posting articles on writing and instead focus on what is happening around us.
I understand it is hard to concentrate on your writing when there are so many things going on around you. I, for one, is also getting distracted by so many news that is taking place right now.
It is alright to get scared. That is normal. When you are afraid, you become more cautious, alert with your surroundings, and protective not only of yourself but also of your loved ones.
We fear the invisible things. It is hard to fight and eradicate what is not visible to the naked eyes. So, here we are, trapped and tortured with fear, hysteria, negativity, and judgement.
Do not let these crush our spirit. We are better than that. Our prospect of survival depends on our ability and our behaviour towards one another.
Our government and the media have bombarded us endless news and discussions about the coronavirus that is taking over our lives now.
A great American leader, Thomas Jefferson, once said, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”
We looked up to our politicians governing our country for guidance, for protection, for good health, and financial security. They are also human like us with a family that needs protection and security. And, they would do everything what they think is best for everyone.
The call for a national emergency has put us all in a state of fear. To overcome that level of anxiety, we must be resilient and strong in spirit.
We are dependent on one another for survival, yet, we ignored the cry for extreme precaution and social or physical distancing.
We can no longer go to work, but it is not an opportunity to go around places and seek fun and adventure. We are not on a holiday break, not anymore.
We must think of our safety, our total well-being, and the safety of the people around us and our community. Our only hope is for our society to act as one family looking after each other, caring for one another and providing help who need it most.
We have that induced fear and anxiety of missing out or not having anything that will provide us for our daily maintenance.
This fear led us to greed and selfishness. We behaved like animals fighting for a mere piece of item that we could share with everyone.
Selfishness dictated our behaviour to take more than what we need and what we can swallow. Still, we instead have it all for fear of not having anything at all.
Let us all get reminded what Mahatma Gandhi said…
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.”
Let this challenging experience become our teacher about life.
We learned the value of life when it diminished right before our eyes. We don’t own it. What is left of it will be taken away anytime, whether we are ready or not.
We learned to slow down, to take a deep breath, and to go home.
We move in a fast lane where the nights are no longer welcome; when the power never gets turned off, and technologies dictate everything we do, what to say and even what to eat.
We found time to sit down and have meals with our family.
We listened to music, read a good book and wrote a poem, and spent time with the people in our household.
And, for the first time, we felt that fear that we might lose what we love.
Keep your faith grounded and don’t be ashamed to pray. We will survive this horror. We will fight it, and we will pass the test.
Let us renew and cherish what is left on Earth. It is our home. It is our responsibility to take care of it.
It is the beginning of the working week for the year 2020. Some of us are probably still feeling tired and lazy.
Some are wrapped up with plans and seriously thinking that something positive could happen this year. Of course, it’s New Year – a new idea, new hope, and a new beginning.
We all want to have a fresh start. That is what the new year means for all of us. It marks a new beginning – to restart and to do things better.
The holiday season may be a welcome break for all of us, but to others, it is a bit of disruption to their daily routine.
The gap between Christmas and New Year is so small, only one week to be exact. Yet, it felt like it was a lengthy vacation.
We allowed ourselves to overindulge with all the things we would never do in our regular daily routines. We drank too much alcohol. We ate junk foods, lots of sweets, stayed up late at night, and the list could go on and on.
Then, we all must face reality. We must go back to work.
Going back to work to continue what we left behind is a struggle. It is hard to go back to our desk that was once cluttered with notes and papers, and where all electronic devices never get turned off.
Somehow, we must return to our desk to continue what we left behind during the festive season.
Whatever we have on our plate this year, our writing should always have a spot in our busy calendar. Otherwise, it will never get done.
I could understand the feeling of being a little bit anxious, especially turning on that computer again and thinking about what to write.
We feel that we have lost our momentum in writing. No matter how much we shake our heads, nothing is coming out, not a word or a single idea.
It felt like we are facing a brick wall, and we could not see anything behind it.
We want to break that wall in front of us, so we could think again, but it seems harder and frustrating.
It is hard when you are still feeling nostalgic about your vacation and wishing it never ended.
It is hard too when all you could think of is to check your social media content for photos and messages from your friends and families.
We shared a good laugh and memorable moments with them. Reminiscing those times how we acted silly and funny, and it was perfectly okay with them. Wiping off that smile on our face was hard because that was the only time, we let ourselves lose and vulnerable.
And that should have been enough.
Instead, we couldn’t shake them off our heads. We yawned in front of that bright screen on our computer. Our heads are empty. That brick wall in front of us seems to get bigger and taller. We couldn’t see anything except flashbacks of the best Christmas break we had.
Our daily writing routine would slowly come back to us. Perhaps, we would have already thought of something better to make our working schedules more achievable.
To ease back to work would take a little bit of time. But, whatever you do, make sure that it doesn’t take you that long.
There is no excuse for why we couldn’t write. We had our breaks, our time out from the daily grinds in our life.
It’s time to go back to work.
If we continue to make excuses, we will never write again.
Perhaps, we are still feeling exhausted after those endless preparations for Christmas, then New Year has just begun.
Just imagine a tree shedding off its old leaves and flowers, day after day, until the last leaf fell on the ground on December 31. With great anticipation, only one minute before the clock strikes 12:00 a.m. we welcome the new day and the new year.
Just imagine too, how we watched that leaf fell on the ground. And the much-awaited desire to see new foliage comes out as soon as the clock ticks to signify a new day.
Just imagine too, what is playing in our heads while watching that new leaf comes out from that tree. We feel the excitement of what the foliage will look like this time and the flowers it will bring us, or perhaps fear of the unknown, for nothing is certain anymore in this world.
Whatever the new year has brought us, we have 365 NEW days to re-start and begin all over again. It is like peeling off old or dead skin to allow the new and fresh coat to grow. While to other people, the new year is to continue what they have started.
Some of us make resolutions every new year promising to accomplish a personal goal or do something to improve one’s life.
Other people set up unrealistic goals with a list of Dos and Don’ts. It seems that they are sincerely following their guidelines from morn till night and changes have been made for themselves.
However, slight mistakes are unavoidable. One of the resolutions is beginning to miss. . . two. . . then three . . . and so on until the whole list is omitted. Afterwards, they feel sorry for what happened. They even find them funny objects of amusement, yet everything is wasted – the time and the effort used.
On the other hand, some devotedly fulfilled their missions. Still, it then takes time and patience to be successful in undertaking these goals.
Listed resolutions are not needed unless we have the so-called faith in determining and knowing ourselves our capacity to understand right from wrong. In other words, “self-study” is necessary for better living.
No matter what we are aiming to achieve in our life for this new year, determination and commitment to our goals would take us there.
If we aim every day to change something small in ourselves for personal growth, perhaps it would be accessible and achievable.
Remember, there are only 24 hours in a day, a small chunk to consider compared to 365 days to battle with, tirelessly which seems no end.
Change something in yourself, whatever comes to your mind, one bite size at a time would make us feel better and more accomplished than you would ever imagine.
Aiming for a change? Try it piece by piece, one chunk at a time. They are easier to swallow and more achievable.
Before you knew it, you would be looking at the mirror to a new YOU, and that would be the fresh flower that would be coming out of that old tree.
Ninagracia 