Love in the time of Corona

This is a really uncertain and difficult period we are all going through. It is the kind of stuff we read about in books, or watch on television. I mean, I read once in the bible that god would bring epidemics on earth, but I never thought it would actually happen. Here we are though, it is real, it is happening. And with it, it has brought a lot of vulnerable raw emotions. I’m not being naive or overtly optimistic  and telling you that this pandemic has brought us closer together as a community (which basically is the problem) (See what I did there?) Because a virus is not what I thought would bring us closer, I’d imagined it to be much less detrimental and a lot less life-threatening. However, I cannot deny a growing sense of belonging that we feel right now, a strong sense of kinship towards the planet and its people, irrespective of nationality or race. Here are a few experiences and observations of mine that made me realise that when we have everything to lose, we become the version of ourselves we were always meant to be. We embrace humanity.

I was flying, or rather fleeing, from Dubai to India, and this man next to me on the flight notified me that his mother had been suffering from a cold since a week, and that I should probably find another seat. He could have easily alarmed me and could have even gotten himself detained from the flight, but instead of worrying about his travel exemptions he chose to do the right thing. And there was this other passenger who asked a stranger for some sanitiser because he didn’t have any, and the stranger obliged because that’s what we have to do right now. We have to look out for each other.

We reached out. We spoke to people we haven’t spoken to in months and asked them if they were okay. We told them to wash their hands, stay in, and protect their elderly; these are things that are not usually a part of our conversations.

There was this video shot in Italy that went viral, people were in their balconies singing songs together, a couple was slow-dancing and everyone just looked hopeful.  They all tried to find little joys during their period of national lockdown, and it was heart breaking yet endearing all at the same time.

Some celebrities took to social media, and sang for their fans, tried to entertain them. I want to stop for a second and believe that they did it out of pure goodwill. Nobody paid Chris Martin to play songs for us on instagram, it was just a free concert! They had the ability to spread some cheer to those who were quarantined at home, and they made the most of it.

Most importantly, we saw doctors and nurses and all the healthcare workers sacrifice their safety and comfort to fight this for us. They spent sleepless scary nights trying to treat those affected, and tirelessly did all that they could to evade this crisis. Even when they didn’t know how to help the situation, they continued to do their duty. And nothing we do will ever be enough to repay this huge debt. But the least we can do is whenever you go to a doctor next, treat them with respect and compassion, and like fellow-humans, not like gods who can magically ease your suffering.

I believe when we come out of this, we’d have unfortunately lost some lives, our economy, and maybe even our paycheques, but not all would be lost. It would have instilled in us a much-needed sense of togetherness that we cannot do this alone, we have to be united if we are to ever find the light at the end of this tunnel. When we come out of this, it won’t be just the result of our brilliant healthcare workers, or the efforts taken by our government. It would be because humans recognised humanity, looked out for each other, and fought together (but at a distance) to destroy this virus that unfolded mayhem across the world. When we come out of this, it would be the result of love, brotherhood, and the sense of responsibility that we felt towards the people of this world, and the value that we gave to human life. Because for once, we didn’t see them as rich or poor, or categorise them based on race or religion. We saw them as just that- people. We recognised how little it takes to destroy our existence, and we embraced that vulnerability and forgot about our differences. We ensured that we tackle this crisis with love, compassion, and of course, our brilliant human mind that makes medical care possible. And when we get out of this, I hope we remember. I hope we never forget how trivial our species truly is, and how it is so important to protect it, and leave our prejudice and hatred at the other end of the world. The world that existed before a  27 kilobase virus threatened us with annihilation.