Life During the Pandemic: Realizations

Before Covid-19 hit the world by storm, we enjoyed a lot of liberties we might have never thought we’d lose, like being able to travel anytime, spending as much time with family, bonding as much with friends, and walking freely to appreciate the beauty of bright lights in the city or the naturally stunning views in the province.

Life was fast-paced, and it felt like nothing could stop us; until the pandemic happened. Who’d have thought? That just like that, hundreds of thousands of lives would be lost, and the world would change right before our eyes. It’s like someone hit the life pause button to put everything on hold.

While there’s not much we can do about the crisis other than to do our part and protect ourselves, there are many valuable realizations we can keep with us to move forward with a better outlook on life. Here are some:

Our relationships with our family and true friends matter the most.

Family is and always has been everything, while friendships make life sweeter. Living would be a bore without the ones we love; our immediate family members, our spouses, close relatives, and real friends. Familial relationships, among all these, play the largest role in molding our beliefs and character, which is why (I believe) they hold the greatest importance. When it comes to friendships, it’s great to know a lot of people and be able to hang out with acquaintances, but it’s the real buddies that count.

The majority of us had a challenging yet humbling experience.

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are in life; ​no one’s exempted from getting the virus. We’re all humans and equals at the end of the day. No one is really above the other. One of the good things that came out of this pandemic is the humbling of the human race, as this gave us the opportunity to go on a meaningful reflection not only about our lives but the world in general.

Self-care is essential to overall health.

Staying busy and productive is a good thing, but so is sufficient self-care. In a society where being busy is often glamorized, it’s good to remind yourself that it’s okay to take some time off and pamper yourself or even do nothing. Taking care of oneself is essential to function at your best and maintain overall health. After all, we can’t take care of our loved ones if we don’t take care of ourselves.

It’s never too late to try something new.

Being practically forced into our homes during the lockdown isn’t always a bad thing since it presents the opportunity to learn something new. If you have a hobby that you’ve always wanted to pursue, or a skill that you’ve always been eager to learn but just didn’t have the time to do so, now’s the perfect moment to go for it. If you think it’s too late to pick up an instrument or maybe try skateboarding (or whatever it is that you want to do), let me tell you that it isn’t. You shouldn’t be hesitating or limiting yourself because you have hidden abilities within you waiting to be discovered.

Life’s too short to hold grudges or to focus on the negative things in life.

I know it’s already a cliché, but the lockdown has brought a whole new meaning to this simple phrase that we often throw around. We’ve all been hurt, rejected, criticized, or offended by other people at some point in our lives, and some instances may have made a mark, but life’s too short to hold grudges or focus on the things that don’t work. We're better off focusing on our blessings and those who matter. All our failures and unpleasant experiences are meant to make us stronger, not bitter.

Anything can change anytime, nothing is permanent in this world.

We were all minding our own business in 2019 when the coronavirus outbreak started. From then on, the virus mutated, things got worse, and millions of people lost their jobs, while others lost their loved ones. Life during the pandemic is an eye-opener. This crisis is one of those moments that remind us how fast things can change anytime.

This isn’t always negative, though, because that also means this pandemic is eventually going to end, as no suffering is permanent as well. We just have to hold on for now.

Life during the pandemic has taught us that we are more flexible than we think

When the virus started taking on the globe, we immediately saw changes in the way we work and live. It certainly isn’t easy to be restricted and be almost prohibited from enjoying our social relationships which are essential for our well-being, yet, we continue to manage (if you find it hard to cope, here are some tips on how to protect your mental health). Jodi Picoult’s quote best expresses this whole idea in a nutshell. “The human capacity for burden is like bamboo – far more flexible than you'd ever believe at first glance.”

Of course, let’s not forget that our front-liners have been the most flexible among us; they have been sacrificing a lot and doing their best to protect us.

Let these trying times allow us to do some introspection and grow as individuals. Take care and stay safe!

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