What If?

I wrote this short reflective piece on some of the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is much easier to focus on the negative effects, we have all been shaped by this life-changing event in some positive way or another.

Essentiality.

A concept not often deliberated on before the pandemic surfaced and rendered the invisible workers that turn the gears of our world to be essential.

We have been raised in a society where each human being working behind the scenes is asserted as lesser; is paid less than a living wage, and is often forgotten about and disrespected. We brush those who serve us off like bees, pests that are shooed away until they are needed. Prior to covid-19 unearthing our lives and forcing us to see from a different viewpoint, those who take care of society were barely seen.

Now, that we – the younger generation – has been exposed to just how crucial the healthcare workers, the grocers and cashiers, the truck drivers and public servants, have always been. What if this pandemic is an opportunity for us, as a generation and as a society, to place more value on our essential workers?

There is a beauty in everyday life that is often looked past in our haste to progress from one moment to the next. The silvery birdsong ringing from treetops early in the morning, the dew that collects on sharp blades of grass, breathing in fresh air when engulfed in nature- we have learned to take these for granted, because there is nothing special about greeting a stranger on the sidewalk, right?

What if, instead of simply encountering these shreds of beauty, we learn to embrace and appreciate each encounter, every breath of unfiltered air, all of the beautiful things in life that often linger out of mind? What if staying indoors has left us better equipped to finding virtue in simple situations?

The pandemic presents a common experience for each and every person on the globe. If we were all divided, we are now united under this shared struggle that has shaped our lives. For our generation, this is the defining event of our lifetimes thus far, and it has created memories and stories that we will be recounting once the world recovers. Even then, though, we are still painfully aware that there are, all over the world, people who are suffering from more. In response, we spearhead movements, we attend protests, we donate and sign and scream the words that the world needs to hear, in a desperate attempt to help. What if we emerge from lockdown with a greater sense of empathy? What if these difficult times have merely equipped us with the tools we need to make lasting changes on our planet?

What if instead of being set behind, we have progressed in ways that we couldn’t have imagined?

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