COVID-19 ; the invisible threat haunting the world, leaving countries crawling to their feet and dominating the life of each and everyone one of us. A few weeks ago, have you ever imagined you would be in this situation? Could this be a sort of siren call for us and everyone in the world ?
This isn’t going to be another article on how bad the situation is getting or if it’s getting any better, I’ll leave that to the press. What I do wish this article to be, is a reality check of some sort. As the vast majority of us find ourselves cocooned in our homes, time seems to have slowed down and it’s a perfect opportunity to get our minds thinking. Before you carry on with your day, I invite you all to spare a few moments after reading this post to contemplate. Dig deep into your thoughts and observe just how quickly our lives change once our daily routine and habits are suddenly and unexpectedly, dismissed.
I was planning on releasing two articles for TravelDosed in the coming weeks but right now, it doesn’t make sense to post blogs on travelling. Right now our collective main focus is and should be to remain safe at home and cancel any travelling plans. We have plenty of time to explore the world.
As soon as this virus hit countries one after the other, it was as if a domino effect started taking place. I have seen many people making drastic changes, taking drastic measures and doing the craziest of things. In a matter of days, panic hit the whole nation, spreading from one person to another, faster than any infection might actually spread, might I add. People began queuing in supermarkets, filling up trolleys up to the brim as if the threat of war was looming. People climbing up shelves of supermarkets, piling up on packets and packets of toilet paper. Seeing this, one must think that no one wants to die and everyone would do anything to survive and try to protect oneself yet in the mist of all this sometimes selfishness and egoism could blind us.
I work as a pharmacist and in my few years working in a pharmacy, I have never seen so many people become so hygiene conscious in such a short span. We have had patients asking for masks, sanitizers, wipes and any alcohol based anti-bacterial products every second, which for us pharmacists was getting rather exhausting. Patients were stocking up on medicines and emptying our shelves every day. After a few weeks of this I must admit I felt overwhelmed, exhausted and worried. I was confused as to whether I as well, should be panicking and alerting my family to start stocking up. I was scared and felt very anxious to what would happen if I got infected, but mostly about the well-being of my family.
Day after day, more cases are discovered and the panic ensues. Schools and healthcare centers are shut down. The public is instructed and strictly encouraged to stay safe at home. Restaurants, bars and all public events are cancelled. In a blink of an eye, the Maltese streets are quiet. Not a single person is seen roaming around. Speaking from my own going experience (and I think many healthcare professionals will agree), we have become scared of our own patients and almost everyone else. We had to become tougher, make stricter precautionary procedures and minimize as much as possible human contact as we have to protect ourselves, our families and also our patients from us.
Passing through the streets early in the morning, I find myself thinking. Every day I used to grumble due to traffic and over-crowdedness wherever you go. Yet, now that we have found ourselves in this situation I regret not being thankful for the tiniest and simplest things in our life.
In a blink of a second everything has changed and our world has paused. I bet this is the great halt that nature has been eagerly longing for to heal itself from all the damages that we have been causing for many and many years. On the other hand, this is having its toll on everyone. Although being stuck at home could be enjoyable, after a while one starts to feel as a prisoner inside his own home, parents & guardians trying to keep their kids occupied and entertained, a great downfall in commerce, business & tourism, financial difficulties for families, separation of families, a greater risk for healthcare workers working tirelessly everyday. This will effect everyone, whether emotionally, financially but mostly mentally. Yet together we can fight this . Call your loved ones especially the elderly. Let them know that you haven’t forgotten them. Do not let them feel alone and isolated.
So how can we survive this new way of life ?
We have to find a new routine in our life, adapt, to change what looks so strange and boring and where time seems endless as a daily ordinary thing. We have to be positive and optimistic. There are people who have been separated from their loved ones, just so that they can do their job and keep us safe. So please stay inside for your own protection, your family and everyone else. Lets not let this virus spread in a way we cannot control it. Lets not make the situation worse. We have a pretty realistic example from other countries.
We should appreciate every moment of our lives whether stuck in traffic, waiting to get a cup of coffee, the freedom of going out, meeting your friends, getting up every morning to go to work or school. But the most important thing is that we should appreciate and cherish our families. We live such a hectic life that sometimes we forget to show them how much we love them or spare some time to spend it together. We should not wait for another life crisis to spend time with the people we love. Let us walk out of this pandemic as improved versions of ourselves and of our lives and not let this be just a bad phase we passed through.
From this we should learn to take nothing for granted,
A casual conversation with your neighbour, a simple handshake, a smile from a stranger, the rush in the morning, school vans passing by,the chiming of church bells, crowded bars & restaurants, the freedom to go out, loud cheerful stadiums, a hectic day and even a boring day.
“ Because when you stop & look around, this life is pretty amazing “- Dr. Seuss
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