Time to Introspect

The Real Heroes

The current pandemic has made us realize a lot of things. Most of us believe that money, fame, status, power, position, caste, religion etc. determine an individual’s worth in society. We took so much pride in saying that we are in a safe and secure job earning a fat paycheck every month. The society also influenced us to take up such jobs saying that it’s the right thing to do, and we decided to bury our dreams and stop pursuing our passion.

Well, here we are; sitting at home, watching television, surfing the internet, and some of us doing our office work from home. Basically, we are not making any significant contribution to overcoming the current situation, and we have realized our actual worth. The current situation has also made us understand who are the real assets of our society. Doctors, Health care workers, Police officers, Journalists, NGO workers, Volunteers, Essential service delivery people etc. are spending sleepless nights and risking their own lives to help us overcome the current pandemic. These same professions were considered to be unconventional, underpaid and risky by our society. 

We can be Heroes too

Let us not get dejected. We can be heroes too by following the guidelines specified by the Government and Public Health Services. We can make a significant contribution in preventing further spread of this disease by social distancing. For those who have an inferiority complex and believe that sitting at home is not a significant contribution, I would say that you are wrong. Most of us are not used to being confined to the four walls. All these years we have been going out for work, hanging out with friends, watching movies, going on trips etc. It’s a huge achievement on our part to give up on all these and remain indoors for weeks.

Various stores have been closed, many small businesses have been affected, the economy has been badly hit, but the worst affected ones are the labourers who work on a day to day basis and earn their wages. We can donate to relief funds and help in improving the lives of those who are badly affected by the current situation.

Time to Change the way we Think

The Coronavirus pandemic has taken many lives across the globe and brought the entire world and our lives to a standstill. But it has opened our eyes, made us realize a lot of things, changed our perception, and more importantly made us understand that most of our thoughts have been based on wrong assumptions. Once we overcome the current situation which we will for sure, we need to change the way we think. Salary, promotion and increment should not be considered as parameters which determine your progress in life. It should be based on your ability to bring about positive changes in your life and others around.

Reward, Appreciate and Help the ones who Deserve

The government should identify those professions which are more significant to mankind, and not only appreciate these professions but also increase the pay package of those working in these fields as they rightly deserve so. This will also motivate a greater number of people to take up these professions. Let us also do our bit by helping our maids, drivers, security guards by paying them more and supporting them in whatever way we can. Let us not bargain with the vegetable and fruit vendors for some time, and if possible, let’s pay them more.

Importance of Technology & Power of Social Media

For those who have blamed technology for various reasons in the past, may have realized its dynamic importance and what it can do in an hour of crisis like this. We have used WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter for sharing useless things in the past. Let’s now use the same medium to share important details about COVID-19. Let’s not share fake details based on rumours and create chaos. This is the right time to make the right use of social media.

The Act of Pursuing

Sitting at home with nothing much to do, most of us are trying our hands at some household work like cooking, cleaning, stitching etc. We cannot be dependent on anyone every time, and we may face certain unexpected situations in our lives. In that sense, these household activities are important for basic survival. Sadly, we are learning these now only to keep ourselves busy and while away time. We are not learning all these because we think it’s important.

We have resumed our hobbies which were long forgotten. Reading books, writing poetry, essays etc. We have also realized some of our hidden potentials. Some of them have realized that they have good creative thinking skills, some of them are utilizing their technical knowledge and developing websites, some of them have realized that they are still good at singing, dancing etc. We have started giving importance to our health as most of us have started working out and doing yoga. Above all, we have started spending some quality time with our family. We have started interacting with some of our close friends through messages and calls with whom we had lost touch.

The biggest question is ‘Will we continue all these once things get back to normal?’. 

Life is a balancing act. And, we must constantly strive to strike a balance between career and life.

AUTHOR NAME - Vinod Balan [Member of Play2Discover NGO]
AUTHOR MAIL - vinod.balan883@gmail.com