Since the beginning of our time on this beautiful, glorious planet, humans have taken what they wanted, giving little thought to what they leave behind. We have foraged the forests for food, killing animals, wreaking havoc without looking back.
Man learned to kill, to defend itself and to adapt to harsh weather. But in this ruthless race to survive, he has unknowingly relinquished his ties to this earth, conveniently forgetting what it owes it.
So every once in a while, Mama nature fights back, reminding us of who the boss is, and giving us the much-needed wakeup call, showing us how we are our own worst enemies. Sometimes it hits us with the plague, other times its literal jolts when we have earthquakes. This time, it gave us a virus.
A virus. That's all it takes to put humankind into a frenzy. A microscopic organism that has us in panic mode. All our nuclear heads, all our stock markets, all our proclamations of glory embarrassingly flattened.
Why is it so? While we conveniently blamed all the previous pandemics on lack of scientific advancements, why is it that this pandemic still caught us by surprise? Why are we so ill-prepared for this war when we spend all of our peacetime gearing up for future wars that may or may not happen? But most importantly, why are our priorities so misplaced?
This is because man, in all its arrogance and glory, has forgotten his very roots. His connection with where he comes from, and where he will ultimately go. My arguments here are not religious. They are not even spiritual, but rather existential. This pandemic is man’s worst existential crisis. No, God is not angry at you for not praying. This is nature's revenge. It is her way of fighting back in a war that we started with ourselves. While we were continuing to abuse this planet, nature was looking for ways to fix our damage.
So what do we do? How do we fix the mess we have made? Is it only a virus we are fighting? Is it merely a fight for survival? Or does some good come out of it? Is this how we get our humanity back?
The first thing to understand is that humans and nature are both on the same side. It's not one against the other. We rely on this earth to give us life, our sustenance is dependent on Mother Nature being pleased with us. So how do we get back into her good books? By recycling? Planting more trees? Building fewer skyscrapers? Waging fewer wars? Yes, all that. But we need to find ourselves first. We need to reconnect with our humanity. I'm sure if we tap in hard enough, we will find it. It's in there somewhere, we were inherently blessed with it. All is not lost, it's just misplaced.
Take a deep breath. Take it all in. The air, the sights and the sounds. How is it that we have no appreciation for this beautiful world we live in? How do we have anything but love for each other when we are all a little part of an immeasurable universe? Take a deep breath and feel. It's okay to be scared. It's ok to feel panic. These are stressful times. Just breathe.
When something unexpected hits us, our first natural response is a shock. That, along with a flood of other emotions like fear, apprehension, and uncertainty, creates an environment the kind of which we are experiencing today, as we struggle to figure out how to cope with this virus. We all have a role to play. Whether it is staying at home and looking out for our loved ones, or fighting on the frontlines, head-on, like the doctors and medical staff are doing. We might be ill-equipped, both literally and emotionally – but we’re all in this together. We might lose more than we hoped for, but one thing we must never lose is our humanity. We must not let loss become a number or death become a toll.
Do your bit. Protect your sanity, share your kindness, find your compassion and spread it around.
Some say this is the beginning of the end, and the world – as we know it – will change forever. Being a realist – I’d say it might. Whether it changes for the better, is solely up to us.