When the new decade started, everyone was busy making new plans, new dreams were seen but suddenly a virus came out of nowhere and everything came to a standstill. The words Mask, sanitiser, lockdown, isolation, quarantine, hydroxychloroquine became a part of our vocabulary and day to day events. Though this virus created havoc in our life but taught us few life lessons as well:
1. Family and friends come first
Before the coronavirus dominated our lives, many of us may have taken human interaction for granted. Spending time with our immediate loved ones now, however, has taken centre stage. Despite the frustrations the daily confinement may naturally bring, it’s important to reflect on what our family and friends truly mean to us. As restrictions begin to lift, seeing those we haven’t been able to connect with face-to-face will feel that much more special. Maybe we’ll even share more smiles and hellos with those we don’t know.
2. There’s no place like the outdoors
Our homes may have become sanctuaries in a way we didn’t anticipate. Yet whether it’s gardening, hiking or walking through a park, or just poking our heads out the front door for some fresh air and sunlight, the great outdoors has remained a viable escape. The world may have ceased to exist as we once knew it, but nature endures
3. Prevention is power
What we eat, our exercise habits and general handwashing/ hygiene awareness have garnered greater focus. When it comes to our health and wellness, there is power in ownership and prevention
4. Hobbies are healing
From cooking and knitting to painting and learning a new language, our renewed enthusiasm for pastimes has helped to recharge our health batteries, not to mention build connections with our families. For example, the simple act of baking bread with a son or daughter can nurture an important life skill, as well as create a cherished memory.
5. Our minds matter
While the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted newfound worries, it’s also forced us to slow down and evaluate how we cope with stress. Has this resulted in a desire to learn yoga, meditation or mindfulness? Whatever the path to reducing stress and improving mental wellness, it’s worth staying the course once things return closer to where they used to be.
6. More stuff doesn’t deliver fulfilment
Staying at home and relying on less has taught us to re-examine our priorities. Buying or taking advantage of every possible modern convenience isn’t necessary for our happiness or survival.
7. Essential workers are heroes
It’s long overdue—delivery drivers, supermarket employees, health care professionals and other essential workers are finally receiving the recognition they deserve. The sacrifices they’ve particularly made during this pandemic haven’t gone unnoticed. Showing gratitude for these everyday heroes will go a long way toward building lasting goodwill
8. Health is the real wealth
The most important lesson learned in life in 2020 was that health is a priority, not a privilege. Covid-19 did not spare the young or the old, rich or the poor, as it went globe-trotting. It was your immunity levels rather than age or class that was your best bet. People avoided visiting hospitals as they put up with niggling pains, postponed routine check-ups, and switched to online consultations. It was a much-needed wake-up call to the world to walk the healthy line.
9. Eating right is a priority
Our food has possibly never been as clean as it was in 2020 as we watered, salted, and peppered it to free it of germs and viruses. Some of us went that extra mile cleaning it with turmeric powder and potassium permanganate. After a long time, many of us knew the ingredients that went into our system, courtesy of home-cooked meals. As eating out became taboo, and fraught with unknown dangers, most people experimented with their ‘kitchen sets’. Discovering their hitherto unknown culinary skills! And the results were there to see – we all felt healthier and happier for it
10. Nature is supreme
Nature showed us who’s boss in 2020. Bushfires in Australia, forest fires in California, and of course, the contagious virus that has literally grabbed us by the throat. Humankind cannot fathom the vastness, depths, heights, and penetration of Mother Nature. She has shown us snippets of her strength, and mankind has had to beat a very hasty and indefinite retreat. A not-so-subtle lesson to respect the ground we walk on.
11. Be prepared for anything
Life is short and uncertain. We felt it forcefully with basketball legend Kobe Bryant’s tragic death. Then again, the pandemic also inevitably taught us this. All you can do at times is to take deep breaths and brace yourself to face whatever comes your way.
These are few things we should always keep in mind even after the pandemic ends.
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