A good respite for the mind in a hectic city
COVID-19 has resulted in an all too familiar scenario- closed shops, empty benches, smooth low traffic, reticent people. A general malaise has descended on the masses.
Under daily normal circumstances, I would be working then home to family and pets and travel for a couple of days in a month. I would spend a lot of time with my elderly siblings.
But now that work is almost at a standstill, I took the opportunity to explore. I checked out the shops at the city train stop which I have not been to eons.
The facades have changed. New eateries, nice showcases, new products entice one to buy. Some people still milled around but followed the guidelines of social distancing and other preventive measures of spreading the virus.
For the most part, people are heading homes as nightspots, bars, cinemas, etc are off-limits.
Still, it is nice to seek out a cafe with soothing music and a cappuccino at a designated seat. I wanted to contribute to the business no matter how small. My frothy cappuccino beckons with its aroma and the texture left a lingering smoothness in my mouth.
I have never really savored coffee this way. Most times, even the most expensive coffee is frittered away while talking over coffee. Most times I forgot what the cake actually tasted like when too engaged in conversation.
This morning, I noticed the cherry blossom like a tree blooming in my neighbor’s garden. I also became aware of the beautiful morning glory vines with the electric blue flowers glistening in the sun. COVID-19 has slowed me down and I think I need to. Where am I heading, rushing here and there every day?
With the mandatory social distancing, I have taken to walking around the estate looking at the neighbors’ houses. Many are ‘growing’ their houses skywards up to the maximum limit of four levels in our land-scarce country.
COVID-19 has changed lives as well as destroyed lives. But we all must remain hopeful, positive and prevail. Do what we can, give away some of your excess groceries to those who need them, help a neighbor purchase something online if they are unable to and give words of encouragement to those who are feeling down.
It is not the time to shower blame. It is time to alleviate the situation and help each other. It is time to listen to the authorities and experts to contain the situation.
It is time to reflect on what we have been doing. A second job may pull us through. Look at your strengths. A friend who lost his day job turned tuition teacher. Another friend who was forced to take no pay leave looked to retail to tough it out. There will be jobs available.
Having experienced retrenchment in the mid-80s, I can empathize with those who were given the pink slips in recent months. But stay strong and work at it. Back in the eighties when the internet was not popular, we had to go job hunting, even knocking on doors. Now with job websites, it is not impossible to find something to do meanwhile.
Hopefully, the authorities may amend the rules for the time being to allow moonlighting as long as there is no conflict of interest.
Trust that the authorities are doing all that they can. People are resourceful and this will pass. The havoc wrought is felt deeply.
Human beings wake up to the realization and reminder that life is indeed unpredictable. By learning from this disaster, future ones would be more effectively managed. Hopefully, we would learn the causation of this virus and emerge much wiser.
In any case, we must not lose our fighting spirit. When you lose your courage, the battle is lost as ideas dry up and loss of persistence give way to nonchalance and apathy. We are not made that way. From time immemorial, crises came and went. Each time, the human species became more united and unified and emerged victorious in the end.
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