Coronavirus is not just killing people but also leaving them with their worst nightmare, fear and loneliness. In just a few months, some important lessons regarding this pandemic have started to emerge. Lessons that we had long forgotten. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say, the ongoing pandemic and the accompanying lockdown has shown us how to be humans once again.
Presently, the number of confirmed cases in Pakistan is around 2400 with over 30 casualties. I’m not quoting the Provincial stats individually as we are all in this together regardless of our geography. At this stage, more than 7 billion people around the world are confined in their houses, roads have become empty, cafes and restaurants have become isolated, borders are closed, and educational institutions have been shut down.
Coronavirus pandemic did not prove to be racist; it has effected people everywhere regardless of their caste, colour and country. It has shut down all means of interactions and connections. In this scenario, only smartphones and internet services enable us to sustain our social relations.
Coronavirus has made us realize that one does not need parlor visits to look beautiful, beauty is internal not external. I am not saying parlors are useless
During this crisis, there were some basic life lessons that we should have learnt — for leading a healthy and happy life. Unfortunately, we had to learn them the hard way, but as they say “lessons learnt the hard way are never forgotten”.
Work from home is a good option
It has been almost a month since people are working from their homes — which means it is not an impossible task. Before this pandemic, work from home was considered a “Sin”. in Pakistan. As very few companies were exposed to this concept; the remaining would label the employee to be non-serious if he/she does not adhere to fixed timings of work, 7 Days a week.
The option of working from home should be given to employees if they’re unwell. Presently, the whole world has started working from home. Yes, the physical presence of employees is important. However, if turning up for work 7 days a week gets frustrating and overwhelming — and in the meanwhile working from home helps employees to enjoy their work and perform better — then what is the harm in practicing that?
Survival without vacations
Unfortunately, we have reached a stage where we define “vacations” in relation to the level of interest it invites from our friends and relatives. This pandemic has taught us that staying at home can also be considered a vacation. One can relax at home and call it a vacation.
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According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Vacation is described as “a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation”. This definition does not require a vacation to be carrying a fancy name and that it should be expensive, unfortunately, to cater up socially, we tend to take expensive foreign trips as vacations. The prevailing pandemic has shown us that we can still survive without Fancy Trips.
We are beautiful even without parlors and spas
Yes! I love this lesson. In our society, adopting a lavish lifestyle in the form of weekly parlor and spa visits had become a norm. Coronavirus has made us realize that one does not need parlor visits to look beautiful, beauty is internal not external. I am not saying parlors are useless. We do need them but only when required — and that merely based on parlors we shouldn’t assess someone’s personality.
#FoodForThought
Here are some simple foods that boosts respiratory health and helps build a stronger immune system to fight the Coronavirus.
Create a shield with social distancing and a healthy lifestyle to keep the virus at bay.#TheDen #eathealthy #antioxidants #immunityboost pic.twitter.com/ifKNz8fXX8— The Den, Bengaluru (@DEN_Bengaluru) March 28, 2020
Money doesn’t make us rich
We have many examples in our country of people donating large sums of money, regardless of their financial position. My grandmother, who had collected Rs 5 Lac to perform Hajj this year — ended up donating this amount to the needy, who are faced with unfavourable conditions because of coronavirus lockdown. Donations require good intentions rather than bank balance. We all have money, but only a few among us use it wisely.
Washing Hands Works
Let’s observe a life prior to Covid-19, we never paid attention to washing hands unless they smelled bad or were extremely dirty. Our minds never sent us a signal to clean our hands after eating, coughing, or sneezing. We never knew the importance of Washing Hands; how it can help us stay safe from many diseases. Washing Hands and sanitizing is a basic tip to stay away from germs, which leads me to my next point.
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Watch out for the germs
Formerly, people never paid attention to Germs and Bacteria. We believe they are tiny organisms and cannot be seen with a naked eye. Hence, we never really believed them to be real. Covid-19 has taught us to be aware of these tiny germs to stay healthy. Watch out for the germs!
Living without maids
Maids have held an integral role in every household. The word maid is used for “Domestic Helpers”. Women are very dependent on their maids in order to carry out their daily chores; everything flips if our maids take a day off. Normally, the chores for maids get pilled up, once they take leave. We had become so dependent on maids that if they take a day off, our life stops. Where people in western countries do not hire workers, instead they clean their houses themselves. Covid-19 has taught us how to survive without maids. They are on leave and it turns out women are happier — as they can clean the house according to their wishes.
Men and women can work together
Men and women have started working together in their households. This lockdown has brought the two genders together, making them realize each other’s contribution in running the household. Formally, both genders used to blame each other for not fulfilling their responsibilities. Now they are locked down, collectively carrying out their tasks.
We can survive without Junk
So it’s been 15 Days almost, without any junk food. Initially, I did crave for it but then I realized how healthy I’ve started to feel without junk food. Staying healthy is a key to a happy life. The more junk food you eat, more depressed and sad you’ll feel. Junk Food contains nothing but sugar and calories.
Analysis
If we look at it, this lockdown has positively affected our lives. These were just a few points from the list of the many positive effects. Moreover, it has made all of us realize the things which matter the most to us. Lastly, through this crisis we’ve learnt how to survive and how important is cleanliness for our health.
Nabya Shahid is a Producer of Nadeem Malik at HUM News . She has worked with multiple anchors . She was also a Copywriter at HUM Television Network . She can be followed on twitter @nabya18 . She is also a media and communication graduate from Fatima Jinnah University, there she was working as editor of University’s magazine. She has also submitted her writings to daily times as a freelancer.she is a n occasional blogger as well . Her interests include reading and writing about social issues and domestic politics. She could be followed on word press https://letshearit2017.w