A PANDEMIC SHIFT IN PERSPECTIVE

The word Pandemic has struck terror in all our hearts. Corona, Covid 19, Covid hotspot have become words that we dread to hear. What if we were to think of the Pandemic differently- give it an imaginary Avatar or defang it with a milder alter ego? Change its character and give a good spin to this droplet of mass destruction…here is my take…

Think of the Pandemic as a ‘TEACHER’. For years our mothers taught us to be good humans with basic values and principles to lead a virtuous life. We did not listen. Our teachers in school took over. We did what we had to do to pass and flee those hallowed portals of hell called centers of higher learning – or school. Our jobs taught us nothing but how to crib in a million different ways on how our bosses sucked.  And then along came the Pandemic – the Teacher from hell with a skull and crossbones in hand instead of a ruler. And we learned quickly…we learned to adapt, we learned to be brave, we learned resilience and we learned how to survive and remain human. We learned more in four months of lockdown than we learned in our lifetime – not withstanding all the B schools and A+ jobs. The Pandemic became the teacher extraordinaire and gave us immortal credos to live by much like Buddha, Aristotle and other great philosophers…

Think of the Pandemic as ‘EMPATHY TRAINING’ for those who had no empathy or sympathy for the old and infirm. We are now experiencing firsthand their world of isolation, loneliness and pain. We watch hours of T.V which has now become our lifeline to sanity. And, the more we watch, the more isolated from reality we get and become depressed. The worst is the isolation in our little islands of misery. One day, this will end for all of us and we will return to our normal busy, productive lives. Let us never forget the lonely and isolated old people for whom there is no parole from their lifelong sentence….

Think of the Pandemic as the ‘BESTIE’ – the one you never discovered up till now. The ever present one that lived inside of you – not the one on social media or the one you got wasted with when “life” became too much to bear. This one is with you night and day – the one who never outgrew you or left you. And when words like social distancing, sanitizing and self- isolating became the jargon for a modern day malaise that infected us long before the Pandemic raised its ugly crowned head – turn to this bestie for comfort….

Think of the Pandemic as a ‘TERRORIST’ – who tried to hijack your life and end it. Only this terrorist spread terror with a crown on his head while you cowered in a corner with a mask over most of your face. No terrorist has held the world to ransom indefinitely before we triumphed. With every attack, we humans emerged stronger, wiser and better prepared. Whether it was 9/11 in the States, 26/11 in Mumbai or terror in the form of a virus like Ebola, Sars, Mers, or Corona, this too shall be overcome and relegated to the bin where it belongs…

Think of the Pandemic as the ‘TIMEKEEPER’. Before Pandemic you hid behind “Busy”, “So Busy” and finally “Too busy”. You yearned for more ‘me time’ to be still with no obligations or needless distractions. Well now you have it! What are you going to do with it? You can take the time to change your perspective and humbly accepting this unique gift where the whole world is in the same boat, on the same page and the only connection that matters is the human one. Not the digital, not the social and certainly not the superficial – just the real in all its naked ‘gory’….

And finally, the Pandemic became the Death force that taught us to find our life force – within us. Breathe, live and love and yes, adapt! Embrace your inner pandemic before you set out to conquer the one outside…

Nimmou Nilakantan