What a year! The second decade of this century ended with a bang – this year is associated with all sort of firsts.
It was the first year where an entire generation of people, who had not seen war, were exposed to war like conditions. We were confined to our homes, had to follow government orders, hoard household items and restrict our movement in general. I think the only thing missing was a siren every time a COVID case was discovered.
It was and still is the biggest global emergency seen by the living generations. And of course we did not know how to handle it. But human race has survived due to its ability to adapt and sheer resilience. So we learnt and adapted and there were so many lessons on the way.
Employers learnt that employees can work from home/anywhere and still be productive. So it built a more trusting relationship between them and changed the way we work. That then had a flow on impact on where we lived, commutes, road, infrastructure and my hope is that this will be the catalyst for a bigger social change.
We learnt the value of relationships. Families grew closer as we sat at home spending more time with each other. We learnt the importance of those far away and could only be accessed through screens – friends, far away family, relatives etc We also learnt the importance of human contact. I missed that brush with strangers, that smile in the train and even small chit chat with my coffee barista. This pandemic drove home the fact that we are a social creature and need the human contact to thrive.
Technology became our best friend – zoom became the buzzword. Screen time was thrown out of the window with school classes happening online. Everyone adapted as we scrambled to ensure that we remain employed and in touch with the world.
2020 was surreal! It was sad for a vast amount of world population. People lost loved ones, some could not return back to their home country, families were separated by borders as the pandemic raged and the govt tried to get it under control.
I am glad that the year has ended. Hopefully 2021 will ring in a new dawn for the humankind with more compassion, tolerance and kindness across the world. I for one will continue to practice gratitude for all that I have – if the pandemic has taught me one thing, it is that life is unpredictable and present moment is all that we can enjoy!