What I learned from the pandemic
Although COVID-19 brought with it a lot of destruction and hardships, as the world begins to heal now, one can reflect on the teachings from the pandemic with the hopes of moving forward and applying those learnings to our everyday lives so that we may at least come out of this being better people and citizens for it.
I learned three important things this past year. The first is the importance of community. This pandemic has shown us the importance of supporting one another — and not just monetarily, but how we can creatively help. Even those with little means came to the forefront to help organize and lift up those less fortunate.
I also learned how to appreciate the little things in life such as the seasons changing and the color of the leaves indicating the passing months.
This helped me realize the importance of slowing down and taking time to appreciate the environments around me rather than spending the whole day with my face in a screen, going through life quickly as the hours and days passed.
I was separated from my parents for a long period of time, and in that time, my grandson was born. The beautiful circle of life was now more precious and more delicate than ever.
Once you find that new appreciation for time and life, once you are at peace with yourself, it becomes easier for you to forgive and for you to love.
With these kinds of moments we begin to realize what really matters and all other petty problems and issues just become so irrelevant. Once you find that new appreciation for time and life, once you are at peace with yourself, it becomes easier for you to forgive and for you to love.
Finally, I learned the importance of cultivating healthy relationships and how to find the right balance of taking and giving from them. It was hard to lose loved ones and grieve as the world changed so quickly from one day to the next with no end in sight. It made us hold on to our loved ones and appreciate them more than ever; the kind of appreciation that is often too late to articulate to a loved one before they are gone.
The fear of the unknown made us all take a look inward and tell each other how much we loved one another and what they mean to us — something that I practice almost daily now. The time that I had with my children is something I will probably never get again. I had time to truly get to know them well and the great people they have become in their own right.
The pandemic made the world slow down and with it, so did our lives. We suddenly had more time to work on ourselves and realign our priorities and values. We had time to think how we would want to live our lives post-pandemic and the kinds of humans and world citizens we want to be.
Now it’s time to take all those learnings and put them into practice constantly, never forgetting what we have been through together these past two years.
Computer graphics by Igan D’Bayan based on a painting by Edouard Vuillard