This might sound Harsh and Grim. Viewer discretion is advised. This post is my analysis psychological impact of this pandemic. It does not have to do anything with how people are behaving since the lock-down has been relaxed.

Mother Earth has its natural pecking order.

And I believe, we as humans, were never supposed to be at the top. We, with the construction, drilling, garbage and pollution, we are killing the only place we can truly call our permanent home.

From Mid 2019, there was a piece of information going around. Scientists were saying we only had a few months to make sure we have home. A few months, Mid 2019 onward, was the last chance we had to save the planet before we crossed the point of no return in terms of climate change and if we didn’t do anything then our future generations would not have enough natural resources including clean air, to sustain.

Well, in spite of the work of a few noble societies and workers – genuine kudos to all of you – sadly, we did fail to do anything about it.

We are the misbehaving child of Mother Earth, and She has stepped in, to discipline us.

And this is not the first time this concern has been voiced. Though a movie, In Godzilla – King Of Monsters, there is a quote. (I have removed the unrelated dialogues)

Humans have been the dominant species for thousands of years, and look what’s happened. Overpopulation. Pollution. War. The mass extinction we feared has already begun. And we are the cause. We are the infection. But like all living organisms, the Earth unleashed a fever to fight this infection. Its original and rightful rulers. The Titans. They are part of the Earth’s natural defense system. A way to protect the planet, to maintain its balance. And within our lifetime, our planet will perish, and so will we. Unless we restore balance.

My words may sound cult-y and apocalyptic, like a shady, backwoods country preacher, Joseph Seed (though a fictional character, he is believed to be based on real life cult leader, David Koresh), but they are true. And deep down, you know it.

Let me talk about the virus for a few lines, don’t worry this won’t take long as just as you, I too am fed up with listening to the repetitive news bulletin across all communication media. In short, the Covid-19 virus, spreads via droplets of water – spit, sneeze etc. As there is no vaccine as of yet, the only way to prevent its spread is avoid contact, i.e “social” distancing and Lock-down. If you want me to write more on the impact of social distancing and lock-down, let me know.

Detour over, back to original content.

Yes, this pandemic is truly a catastrophe for us, and my heart goes to all those adversely impacted by it. However, this crisis too, has a silver lining. In this pandemic, we have been given two things, both of which, we truly need.

Time and a Second Chance.

For many of us, the thing which we deemed most important in our lives, our “work”, has come to a grinding halt, and we have been given the gift of time. Mother Earth has took away our toys, so that we can sit and think of what we did wrong and the consequences of the same.

With all the time on our hands and little to no work, we have been given a choice. A choice either to simply do nothing, enjoy the quarantine time as a paid vacation and pamper yourself, or do something that will change your life for the better.

We can finally do everything we ever wanted to do, learn everything we want to learn, do the things we always wanted to do, but always kept procrastinating because we “never had time”. Well, what is going to be our excuse now? If you are able to shake off the old 9-5 routine and learn new things in this period of crisis, then fantastic. However, if not, this maybe the time you realize that even back then, what you didn’t lack was time. It was discipline. It was a will to be better. A will to Change. (I know you have read this quote on Instagram before, but believe me, I typed this up before it became popular.)

So it’s time we turn this moment of crisis, into something productive and come out of this, a better version of ourselves. With the lock down and physical distancing in place, we can indulge in the plethora of information available on the Internet from the comfort of our own houses.
And as I write this, a lot of people are doing that. Some of them are learning new skills/software’s, getting into cooking, others are starting to pursue old hobbies like reading (all, yours truly), while some others are painting, some are trying their hand at writing as well, and many more.

Humans, as a species, have a tendency not to do anything, unless and until we are forced to do it, by someone or something. And this quarantine period has done just that. It has made us Stay Home and work on something other than our jobs. It has been our Physical and Mental Well Being. A lot of us have started working out, and there has been a lot of buzz around remote group meditation sessions. This has and will impact, the quality of human life by a lot. Both of these activities are ways to boost creativity and stem the tide of boredom, resulting from an abundance of time on hour hands.

We could use this time to broaden your perspective, learn to see things from the opposition stand point. This would help you better understand the situation and resolve the conflict. We could use this time to gain mental stability and inner peace (#KFP). With an abundance of video calling apps, and now, Time, we can get in touch with long distance loved ones, connect with our family.

So, what else all can we do to make this time count? Here’s what I have so far, and bear in mind, they are all broad terms, if I were to explore each and everyone of them in here, it would take me ages to write and you to read. Whatever else comes to your mind, let me know, either comment down below, or you know how to reach me.

• MOVE – Improve your physical self. Exercise regularly. Move around every 1 hour instead of stewing at your work bench.
• MIND – Improve your mental health. You could try your hand at meditating, reading something stimulating. Work on accepting the fact that there are some people who will have opposing views to yours. Practicing gratitude will go a long way in long term mental well being.
  • Get Creative – When we were stuck in 9 – 5 routine, our mind was constantly at work, but with the drop in work volumes and rise in free times, its our job to keep our mind engaged and not feed it with random junk. Strive to do at least one creative thing every day. It might be anything from reading a random quote on Instagram and analyzing its applicability to your own life, to writing a blog post, or creating artwork.
  • Think – Everyday, either at the start of your work or at the end of your day, keep a few minutes aside, just for thinking. You can listen to music to help calm down and release the stress. You can contemplate the day past, or plan the day to come.
  • Communicate – Engage in lively discussions with your peers either via calls or texts. Give your mind a break from repetitive tasks, and get those creative healing juices flowing. You will immediately feel improvement in your mood.

We were brainwashed and trained to work work work from 9 to 5. But now that it is starting to dissipate just a bit, we are starting to realize how one dimensional our lives had become. So this is the perfect time to contemplate and plan your lives after retirement, because what you are feeling right now, CANNOT be your future. You would need interests, hobbies, friends and community to keep you occupied once you are done with your servitude aboard the “corporate Flying Dutchman“.

Moving on to the next point, We have been given a Second Chance. Only a handful get a second chance, and only a few from those handful, make the most of it. This below piece is written by one of my dear friends.

After the virus spread throughout the world, countries started to order lock-downs and shelter in place orders to contain the virus. Although, the main objective of the lock-down was to save as many human lives as we can, we realized that it had a much better side effect.

The lock-down forced everyone to stay at home and albeit harming the tourism industry, it helped our nature heal. We saw Venetian Canals heal due to tremendous decrease in boating, we saw sea turtles laying eggs on beaches which hadn’t been spotted for years, all thanks to humans and their waste.

This makes us think if we are being shown what we were missing. It makes us take a hard look at our actions and realize that this is our chance to learn to treat Earth with kindness.

Instead of claiming global warming is a hoax, we need to start putting more efforts to develop and make sustainable energy solution economically viable. Simple actions like biking instead of driving, using reusable bags and water bottles can go a long way to save this planet that we call home.

Maybe we start supporting local businesses more than large companies. These local businesses have a much less carbon footprint and adverse impact on the environment.

In the elections to come, maybe we elect officials that support and fund sustainability research.

This pandemic has given us a timeout to clean up our act and we should take responsible actions moving forward.

All of us always try to learn skills and gain qualifications which will help us in our professional career.

But hardly anyone invests time and money into becoming a better person, a kinder human being.

And even less number of people invest in the future and maintenance of the Earth.

Maybe this quarantine time, we do exactly this. Make ourselves into a better race of human beings.

Someone, who values what we lost in the quarantine, someone, who appreciates what they have in the nature.

We should learn, to live alongside nature rather than exploit and conquer it.

Check this out for one of my posts on Humans Vs Nature.