In these somber days of Coronavirus’s threat of becoming a long term pandemic, we have a lot on our minds. The precautionary measures of social distance and self-isolation recommended by the medical community and Governments have resulted in many of us with time on our hands!
TIME! That precious, rare thing that we dreamed yearned and hungered for during our working days as we struggled for work-Life balance! We wistfully wished to tiptoe thru the tulips in bloom when spring’s freshness beckoned outside, but we could not leave our desks. Now, we have all the time we ever wanted but nowhere to go with the closings of offices, shopping malls, and the Main Streets, schools, and colleges, places of socializing and entertainment.
The fear of pathogens in the air has caught most of us locked in our homes with a gaping void in front of us, leaving us stunned and wondering what next? Uncertainty and anxiety dominate our thoughts about potential layoffs and a loss of paycheck and decent healthcare, lack of access to eldercare or childcare, potentially prolonged in-home schooling of young and older children, and shortages of basic daily needs.
The existential threat to small businesses, powerful corporations, and disruptions of supply chains has become evident as Coronavirus forces Economy to its knees. The constant updates of Coronavirus’s progress across all the world, by countries show up in all kinds of media, even when you think, enough! You don’t want to think about it anymore because you feel powerless, humbled, and out of control! The domino effect is felt by everyone, from the mighty Corporations (declared persons by political policies) to the humble hourly workers.
It made me remember a 16th-century poem by James Shirley titled, “Death the Leveller,” which was part of my English literature studies in college. To quote Shirley,
The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays its icy hand on kings:
Scepter and Crown
must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked Scythe and Spade.
The exponential speed with which it is overtaking the communities across the world is overwhelming! All of us are individually facing uncertainties. Still, for once, we are thinking beyond ourselves and paying attention to cities and countries beyond our border, even as we raise a travel ban. For once, we are considering that perhaps we have been mindless in our overconsumption of natural resources and we need to restore Nature’s balance. We need to mend our ways. Depending on our innate nature, it leads us to conclude that ‘we shall overcome’ or plunges us into ennui and helplessness.
It is time to introspect and look into our life’s journey in the rearview mirror and make sense of the paths that we have traveled. It is also time to come to grips with reality and accepting it, changing what we can, if we can, and redefining our real purpose and priorities.
I grew up in times and places where Fatalism was the dominant way of thinking. In my youth, I pooh-poohed it and rebelled against it. Instinctively I thought that if I can choose between options A and B, I control my future because I can decide where I want to be. And even though life had thrown a few curveballs, my underlying belief in free will never wavered. However, Coronavirus has taught me a sobering lesson, that whereas I have some control over most of what happens to me, there are a few things like birth and death, over which I have no control. Fatalism is finally sinking in and making me think that if my time comes, there would be no options A and B. I have to accept this fact, as the Coronavirus looms on the horizon. Acceptance gives a strange sense of calm and freedom from anxiety!
C’est a Vie!
What is dominating your thoughts these days? Are you doubling down and resisting changes or preparing for the “New Normal?