No experience, no pain, no mistake is wasted if we learn from it. The Covid 19 pandemic is rife with life lessons. If we haven’t learned a single valuable one, then it’s time we snapped out of our stupor. Perhaps we can still redeem ourselves.
Here are a few things we (my family, friends, and I) learned from, or realized, during this pandemic:
Resilience is key. Keep your needs and expectations simple. Uncomplicated. Stop punishing yourself with thoughts of what you can’t do, where you can’t go. Because whining is such a waste of time. It’s childish and totally unproductive.
No wonder the Bible tells us to quit whining. It just angers God and makes things worse. During this pandemic, the more we whine and complain, the dumber and more miserable we become. The more we make mistakes, and the more we make others miserable.
As a rule, the resilient one rises to the top with more ease – mainly because he evaluates and adjusts to his situation fast, finds solutions quicker, and uses his brains to his advantage (rather than let his frustrations paralyze him).
Bottom line, resilience makes us enjoy whatever opportunities are present in any crisis situation.
Someone I know was retrenched during this pandemic. But instead of panicking or wallowing in self-pity, he accepted his situation fast, was thankful to the company that retrenched him for all the good years he had with them – and then proceeded to send out his refurbished resumés fast! He thought of all the connections he had – and tapped them.
He didn’t waste time cursing his boss or feeling sorry for himself. Well, guess what? In just a few months, he was offered a much more interesting job – with, get a load of this – twice the salary he used to get! Amazing, right? Resilience is key.
So let’s look at resiliency a bit more. Well, for one, it’s my resilient family and friends who discovered these game-changers fast, at the start of the pandemic: online meetings, online banking, purchases and shopping, online bookings, etc., plus they also discovered (almost immediately) the wonders, the safety, the convenience of using riders and free deliveries! Their lives were much easier and more productive compared to the rest of their unimaginative, whiny friends.
If you’ll notice, there’s a strong bond between resilience and resourcefulness.
On the other hand, arrogance invites more suffering. Whether you’re pro-Covid vax or anti-Covid vax, if you’re arrogant, you lose. No one wants to listen to an arrogant fool. And arrogance can stop us from listening to an opinion that might save our very lives. Remember, no one has a corner yet on how Covid can be eradicated. It’s kind of hit-and-miss until now. Only time will tell what will really work.
So, think about this: whatever it is you believe will protect you from Covid – you could be dead wrong. And your friend could be amazingly right. Your friend could still be alive, ten years from now. While you could be very ill, or even dead, a few months from now – just because you stubbornly believed in the wrong cure, the wrong preventive protocol. So be humble. Learn to listen.
Which means – do your own research, your own due diligence, especially when it comes to what medicines and treatments work against Covid. Don’t be lazy. Don’t be tyrannized by biases. Don’t just believe what you’re being fed by media. Find out for yourself what the experts say, not just what your doctor says – especially if your doctor is not even an expert on epidemiology or virology, etc.
Does your doctor actually do his own research? Is he up-to-date with what’s happening with the vaccinated, the unvaccinated, the Covid vaccines and therapeutics? The different protocols being used here and abroad? If your doctor is largely uninformed, you’re in trouble.
Choose who to believe. Look at the resource person’s credentials. Investigate on their connections to companies or governments or organizations. That really helps establish their credibility.
Finally, one of the things we’re learning to value more and more during this pandemic is this – kindness. Be kind. Be intentionally kind.
Whether you’re locked down or not, kindness makes life easier on you and the people you’re living with. Kindness makes staying at home not only bearable but actually a lifesaver. When you’re kind, you’ll feel a lot better, no matter the situation. Who knows – maybe kindness will boost your immune system? Happy hormones do that.
I think if people were intentionally kinder at home and at work, there’ll be a lot less suicide and depression. There’ll be a lot more resilience, resourcefulness and productivity. Because most people thrive in an atmosphere of kindness. When we feel safe and secure, we tend to focus our energy on performing better. We don’t waste our energy trying to protect ourselves from being hurt or destroyed.
There are life lessons to be learned each day from this pandemic. Look for the lessons. What you realize may save your life.