The earth has existed for billions of years. Different ages, eras, civilisations have come and gone. It has its own healing process. The coronavirus pandemic has created a fear of apocalypse. But that’s for us – the selfish humans. Otherwise, the sun continues to rise, shine and set. The stars continue to twinkle, and we are seeing them clearer than ever. Birds are chirping happily, more than ever. The lungs of the several million species that the earth abodes are breathing fresher air.
The Goods
Well, there’s nothing positive about a pandemic. With thousands dying around the world and billions living in panic, the novel coronavirus outbreak has at least brought the world on the same page, something the biggest of reformists, leaders and even religion has failed to do.
Otherwise, the dictums of our religious books conflict against each other, leading to terrorism, wars and other terrible things. From the religious to political leaders, opinions have clashed and conflicted, and the result has been deaths and destructions. However, one microscopic virus has unified the world. From the US to the IS and from the Modis to Imrans to Trumps to Xis to Kims, the anthem that’s being sung in the chorus – “wash your hands.”
So, hygiene definitely is a positive that has come to fore during the crisis. We all learned about the importance of cleanliness in our primary schooling, but again it took us a microscopic living being to push us doing the right thing and getting back to the basics that we learned in the primary EVS.
Even for the selfish us, we can dive down to the few pluses.
Junks contribute majorly to lifestyle-related diseases. Most of the world is finding solace in the home-cooked healthy meals, breathing fresher air, have become less cruel to the animals, are meditating and exercising more, pursuing hobbies, spending time with the family.
Has it all been too bad?
Most importantly, it has made all of us realise the fragility of our very existence. And once the crisis passes, hopefully, the society we dwell in will be a more caring one – where humans care more about each other like now, than materials.
To start with, how about peeling off the labels called Black, White, Brown, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Gay, Straight, etc.? Coronavirus has defied the class barriers and hit the affluent too. It doesn't see your bank balance or if you are a Pope or Bishop or a tycoon or the President. So, wealth is important for the support of sustenance and health for survival. Hope the future court judgements will look like – no temple or mosque in a disputed site, but a hospital with 1,000 beds that embraces you irrespective of your religion or no religion.
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Some days of Janata Curfew could be dedicated to the looming threat of ‘climate change’. Imaginethe positives?
Nature, right now, isn't complaining at all!
The NASA scientists say the reduction in NO2 pollution started near Wuhan, before spreading across China, one of the most polluted nations in the world.
“This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event,” Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, had popularly said.
Reports quote Christopher Jones, lead developer of the CoolClimate Network, “If we can think about how to prepare for climate change like a pandemic, maybe there will be a positive outcome to all of this. We can help prevent crises in the future if we are prepared. I think there are some big-picture lessons here that could be very useful.”
Just like nature has rebooted, perhaps it's time for humankind to reboot and prepare itself for a better world, a world with compassion and inclusivity where nature is preserved and population controlled.
