BackOpinion | How coronavirus can change us
But man lives in hope and looks for the silver lining behind every cloud. That’s what drives us.While there is much to be anxious about, there are also some good things that have happened.
PremiumIn the 17th century, the English poet, John Donne wrote a poem called ‘No man is an island’. And in the 19th century, Charles Dickens wrote his classic ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ that begins with the much-quoted “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"
Now, fast forward to 2020: Planet Earth is reeling under the impact of Coronavirus that is wiping out lives – and livelihood – at an unprecedented pace and scale; human beings in hundreds of cities have been locked down, isolated and, if they have not already migrated back to their homes in desperation, have indeed become islands (sorry, Mr Donne); and these are clearly the worst of times for mankind. The world is at war – for once, not with nations battling each other but with a common, unseen and vicious enemy. In fact, if anything, nations are beginning to come together at one level as they marshal their forces – not from the military but from medicine – to share learnings and accelerate the development of a cure.
Life has changed, irrevocably. We work from home; we juggle household chores in the few free slots that open up on an increasingly busy daily calendar and we find ourselves doing things we’d assumed weren’t ever in our job descriptions. Boundaries have blurred even as laxman-rekhas have been drawn.
But man lives in hope and looks for the silver lining behind every cloud. That’s what drives us.
While there is much to be anxious about, there are also some good things that have happened: Twitter – that perpetually pernicious scroll of malice, often-misplaced anger and fake news – had a trending hashtag the other day. It said, ‘Nature is healing’ and while it did lead to the usual crop of funny memes, we know that pollution levels are down, and birds have returned to urban skies that are bluer than ever before. The level of vitriol, too, is down – not just on social media (bar the incurable cynics) but also on warring WhatsApp groups. Overall, there is empathy in the air and people are more polite than ever before. Why, I ask myself, did it take a global pandemic to cause this turnaround?
We, who used to unashamedly jump every queue – at ration shops and airports alike – now stand patiently three feet behind each other. We wear masks (the surgical ones) and don’t sneeze into another’s face as we used to. We ask our elderly neighbours if they need any help and we reach out to long-lost kith and kin to check on their well-being. We take pay cuts regretfully, but understandably. We save cash and consume less; we manage with what we have. We are being human, again, in every sense of the word.
But time is a fickle friend and memory can be a mischievous mate. As the weeks trudge by, there will come a point when the lockdown will be lifted and the world, having licked its wounds, will limp back to work. The devastation we will face may not be physical but will certainly be economic and psychological. And the worry is that the lifting of shackles will lead to a surge as we return to conspicuous consumption, to our uncaring, self-centred ways as we forget what we endured.
Because we will have survived.
However, the best definition of ‘survival’ I have ever come across was on a graffiti-covered wall. It said, ‘To survive is to live with what is left’. So, how will we live in a post-COVID19 world? Will we remember what we are enduring? Or will we push these memories deep into a recess and move on?
This is where, I believe, we need to practise what I call DEAR Time… not just because time is precious but because it’s an acronym I use in a workshop on story-selling that I conduct for fun. I discovered it via The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, where my children studied in the early years of this century and practised DEAR Time. It stood for ‘Drop Everything And Read’ because it encouraged seven-year olds to fall in love with the written word.
I’ve happily borrowed it and adapted it over the last two years to mean something else: in our hurly-burly world where we operate on a never-ending treadmill, chasing deadlines and bingeworthy shows on TV, I’ve often suggested to harried corporate executives that they need to press the ‘Pause’ button and stop. I had no idea that this button would be pressed for a full three weeks (to start with) across an entire, unruly country. When the lockdown was announced across India, it stopped us in our tracks. It threw our rushed routines out of gear and, within the first week, had slick city-dwellers rediscovering hidden passions and talents as sought to entertain ourselves and seek social acclaim.
But, DEAR Time, in my book stands for ‘Drop Everything And Reflect’ Time: this is a Godsent opportunity to pause and think, to introspect and, perhaps, change. If we can be polite and empathetic now, what stopped us earlier? If we can be frugal now, why weren’t we before? If we can multi-task on the personal and professional fronts, couldn’t we have done so earlier? As we raced to add more to our bank balances, did we lose something that was far more precious? More important, will we be able to hold on to these values?
The fact is that, despite being devoid of our domestic help, and unable to commute anywhere or splurge on things we didn’t really need, we do have more time on our hands. Time that has been thrust upon us by a natural force whose evil manifestation masks its benevolent chiding: we are being reminded of a world we had but chose to forsake. We raced without reflecting on where we were headed. And we forgot who we are, why we are. We stopped at Esteem in Maslow’s hierarchy, just short of Self-actualisation.
So, while it’s fun to spend more screen-time, this is also a period to look within. There is no one to go out and meet, no one to pretend for, no façade to be maintained. The masks are off even as we are exhorted to wear lifesaving masks. We are who we are, and we see ourselves now as we were meant to be. I’m hoping we will emerge stronger as a race though our numbers will be tragically diminished. I’m hoping, too, that we will do more than survive so that we never return to these tribulations.
This time is yours. It will end soon but before it runs out, do take out some DEAR Time. And remember who you are. Just promise yourself and keep your word. Because as Samuel Beckett wrote, “Words are all we have."
Keep the faith. Stay safe.
The author is an independent brand and marketing consultant who connects diverse dots.
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