Looking back a year ago, I remember feeling angry, scared and frustrated at the beginning of the first lockdown. I was so shocked facing the reality that this virus was literally taking over our lives. It arrived with no invitation and just made itself at home. We named it, we bowed down to it, we feared it and finally accepted it as if it was here to stay. We united in a front to fight one of the biggest and smallest enemy humanity has ever had. The losses we all experienced, one way or another were overwhelming in every level.
But in every fight there are winners and losers. In this case, it was no different. Millions of us lost loved ones, we lost our jobs, our homes and all of us lost our freedom to come and go. We lost the very essence of who we are , we lost togetherness. We lost the energy we receive through physical contact with others. And this energy is what moves the world. We are all losers to the Corona Virus.
But we are also winners. I’ll explain why I am trying to see beyond all the tragedy that this virus brought into the world. “The Enemy is a Very Good Teacher ” the Dalai Lama so gracefully reminds us in all his teachings. There is no evolution without suffering, unfortunately, and we are all more propense to betterment if pushed or pressured, very few people naturally press on without any competition or reason to do so. Now that Corona is here, and it seems that it will be for a long time, why not learn from this invisible enemy? why not turn all the negative changes we have had to go through, and seek to adapt and improve with what we have right now. There is no gain, in trying to live in denial, accepting that we do not need to be all victims and taking a stand against the virus, by learning its weaknesses and strategizing new ways of life, so instead of suffering for what it took from us, let’s embrace what it has given us. Wisdom and strength.
I, for once, used to rush my days, in my OCD routines, getting from one task to another until the day was over, and for what? more money? more recognition? more achievements? for whatever reasons, we have forgotten to live the present day. We stew about the past, live to see a future, that in reality, only God knows if we will actually be blessed to see. The truth is, the pandemic came to teach us all hard lessons and tragically took the lives of millions of innocent people. So in the name of those who perished, let’s all be winners, not losers. Let the enemy teach us the most important lesson of all, we are still here right now and this moment is all you have.
Corona has taken so much from us, but also given the survivors, the most precious gift of all, the gift of time. So let’s learn and live.
Be well.
💜🙏