Hope Or Fear?

Dear Readers,

Coming to terms with living with the fear of the novel coronavirus is tough – especially when it’s securely pinned against the backdrop of daily news stories blasting an ever-increasing number of COVID-positive cases, making fear a more warranted response than hope. Yes, this fear is real, but then, so is hope. 

As we step into August – one of the most auspicious months in the Parsi calendar, we realise that while we were meant to celebrate the joys and festivities of the Shenshai Parsi New Year with our loved ones, we will have to literally tread with fear and social restrictions. But we have the option to choose hope over fear. It is now that we need to imagine and embrace the change of a new, different world, one which will channel our grief and fear into strength, unity and hope. This is the time when we can let our hope shape our new reality.

It’s honestly up to each one of us – we could let this pandemic further intensify our fears, make us more vulnerable and cynical, yearning to head back to the ‘normal’ life of this unjust, unequal world… Or, we could create our new normality, a new world that may not yet be free of this pandemic, but one where we will be more prepared and more united to fight against it, a world full of hope.

We increasingly realise that one of the biggest aces up our sanitized sleeves, in fighting this pandemic, is our unrelenting hope and faith in a safe and better future. Like all other pandemics that humankind has endured, this one too will come to an end. For some, life will never be the same again; for the intelligent, that may be something they hoped for! The distinguishing factor being, the choice they exercised between Hope or Fear. Which one have you chosen?

A famous quote by Anton Chekhov comes to mind, “There will come a time when everybody will know why, for what purpose, there is all this suffering, and there will be no more mysteries. But till then, we must live, we must work…” and we must hope!

Have a good weekend!

– Anahita