Teachings of a Pandemic

It has been exactly a month since I last met my office mates. I clearly remember it being a Friday, when all of us were planning for a major software launch for next week. It was one of those rare weekends when I decided to take my laptop home since I was mentally prepared to work on the weekend to prepare for the launch.

My colleague wished me a happy weekend. As HRs we used to keep a track of developments on the global front and national front for corona. We knew that if things blow out of hand, we would have to give work from home for the safety of our employees. But; on Friday the 13^th, it never struck to me that it would be the last day for a very long time when I would not be going to office.

Due to my busy schedule, I had pushed a lot of activities and meetings for the next week which could happen only if we were in the office. One of the biggest realizations or take away from the corona stricken world for me has been to stop procrastinating things for the future. Whether it is self-development, professional development or a basic routine to be followed – should not be pushed for a later date. Had heard several times that “Who knows if tomorrow will ever come” mostly directed towards the transient nature of life. For the first time realized, a tomorrow can be drastically different from what one envisions.

This incident has also taught me things which though having studied in an esteemed B-School, I never contemplated much on apart from in a professional context. The priorities of life need to be set right and optimization of available resources should be done accurately. We can survive on bare essentials. Of course I am not preaching a frugal life but yes rationalization and optimization of stuff can be looked upon. The definition of “Essential Items” has totally been changed for me forever. Being a privileged kid, a lot of things seemed as essential which do not anymore.

Health and wellness should be everyone’s priority. The whole world has faced an economic slowdown which might take ages to recover from. We have learnt it in a bitter manner that in the end nothing is as important as one’s health. A healthy nation is a progressing nation. I also learnt that we should take special care of people who take care of us. The healthcare professionals, the police and administrative officers, the essential service providers,  the cleaners and janitors – all of them who have been working tirelessly to keep the nation going when everything else has been put to a halt.

The world is full of stupidity and this pandemic has shown us examples of the same in numerous ways worldwide. It is up to us to either delve into the stupidity, form judgements and keep fighting amongst ourselves over the same or learn from it, mitigate the spew of hatred and learn from the mistakes of others.

Above all, one can be an exemplar in one’s field but there are basic life skills such as cooking, cleaning, plumbing etc, which one should be aware of no matter whoever one becomes. Independence comes only when we are self-dependent.

It is the time to Re-work. Re-Prioritize. Re-examine.

So that we do not miss on the moments going forward which we had procrastinated upon earlier.