Let’s Not Go Back To ‘Normal’

Dear Readers,

If there’s one thing the Pandemic has taught us, it’s that we can’t afford to be thoughtless anymore… and not just about the precautionary measures we need to mandatorily adopt to escape being the victim of the rampage caused by the deadly virus, for months now. It’s also, quite literally, about everything else. And hopefully, we’ve learnt our lesson imparted by the ruthless-teacher-cum-grim-reaper rolled into one – Covid-19 – in these few months, which have turned our worlds upside down. And it’s made us look back on all that we, as mankind, have inflicted upon the planet and ourselves, for centuries.

In addition to the three most obvious truths – economic fragility; the significance of human interaction to sustain mental health; and how caring for the environment is more about what we ought to not do, than do – the pandemic has shown us that we have failed at taking care of ourselves in the ways that matter most. It has struck at the very root of our conventional sense of security and made us realise that all the weapons, missiles, fighter jets, nuclear ammunitions, et al, couldn’t protect us from this assault. 

It has altered our very perception of security – which, we increasingly realize, does not lie as much in fighting wars, as it does in taking greater care of ourselves; and that perhaps the government should be spending as much on health-care as it does on defence… especially when the enemy within causes an equal or greater number of casualties!

Maybe, the truth is, we needed this new normal. We had to be locked in for our flora and fauna to flourish in all their forgotten glory. Even satellite pictures reveal a massive reduction in carbon emissions over the world’s most polluted places. Maybe, it was about Mother Nature needing to take some time off to heal herself, to finally breathe free, without the constant, toxic, human interference. 

No, we cannot afford to be thoughtless anymore. That was how it used to be – the normal, as we knew it. Let’s not go back to ‘normal’. Ever. Let’s be the proud creators and participants of this new normal, one which demands thoughtfulness, kindness and consideration.

Have a good weekend!

– Anahita