COVID 19 : a new age

 

I was naive to think that I can seek some sort of redemption once the pandemic is over...

Last year was a question out of the syllabus, a post-credit scene we weren't prepared for. It was unfamiliar territory, an uncharted land. As a kingdom, we happen to find without any map to navigate it through. It was halting. It paused the film of life at an unexpected turn. So many things left undone, so many experiences left to reminisce about only. Things we can never do as we had through before. Because the world changed and with it, everything.

Who would have thought that a point will come when breathing will be a luxury. Who would have thought that a time will come when we long for human contact but won't have it. Who would have thought of time so desperate that making it to the end of the day will be a victory! Two years back if I was told that the world will shut down not temporarily, not permanently either, but still shut down, will I have done things the way I have? Will I have mended the broken pieces, finally buried the dead, let go of shackles? Was it so easy, so within grasp?

Last year, we were telling each other to enjoy the vacation while it lasts. To cherish those moments of freedom. To indulge in minor things we never stopped and appreciated. I was privileged. I had food on the table, clean water to drink, I had the luxury to afford the lockdown and still return to my life like it was. How absolutely lucky I am. Thank God for that. 

But that was not what this pandemic did, or is still doing. Yes, there were challenges to post about and new skills that were learned. Yes, families reconciled and so many letters were finally sent and so many confessions were finally made. It was the fear of the end, the ultimate stop that made us brave, sometimes to the extent of stupidity, sometimes to an extent that we were willing to risk lives. But it did gave us the courage we never knew we had.

There is no going back. We have seen the near defeat very closely. We have the burden of lives lost on us now. A near-death experience that we all go through on daily basis. Now we know how easy it is to lose. But with this, a new age starts. Hopefully one without regrets and remorse. Hopefully a more tolerant one. Hopefully a more understanding one! I can't think of life as it was. The year-long routine is forgotten in such a short span. So this gives me hope it is possible to relearn and adapt. It is possible to better ourselves and shed the shortcomings. It's very easy to tear the world apart, let others suffer, profit from the deaths, and make life difficult for those who can't afford it. It's all been done in a world that was on the verge of being lost. We can do better. We have to.