The last five months have been an unprecedented time in the history of our generation. Needless to say, it has been laden with a ton of realizations and learnings. A health scare went straight from occupying the pages of our newspaper to maneuvering our lives. Every aspect of our daily routines began to unravel their complexities and flaws to us. We simply had too much time on our hands to dismantle every action and learned habit. Whether or not you checked for your wallet and keys before heading out, you definitely checked for your masks and sanitizers. The world had grown habits overnight.

What the pandemic has primarily made me realize is that we as a race need to unlearn so many things. We have normalized our blatant disregard for everything until it comes knocking at our doors. We routinely turn a blind eye to this wonderful symphony of biotic and abiotic beings that we harmoniously live with. We are entitled creators of God. We do not so much as look beyond the comfortable bubble that we live in. Guess what? That bubble has burst.

The exposure of the virus doesn’t understand the hidden terms of your entitlement. Your material possessions cannot buy its interference. It has made this society equitably at risk. And people are now forced to bend.

To bend- to the wrath of nature, to the unknowns, to the callousness of their own kind and to destiny. As most of us scramble through each day trying to keep ourselves sane and safe, let us at least now come to terms with our insignificance. We are but a hair’s breadth in this universe’s play and there is a galaxy of experiences that shall unfold itself onto us. The only surety in this dynamic world, is that we are all in it together!

To sum up, the pandemic taught us a few good lessons to guide us in going forward:

• We really don’t need much to live.
• A satisfying life is the one that is lived mindfully.
• We now know the heightened importance of being resilient.
• Our individual actions matter.
• The virus doesn’t discriminate.
• We coexist with nature.

Stay safe…This too shall pass.

Till then we need to redefine our priorities and bring us closer to ourselves.