Today is not yesterday. — We ourselves change — How was – then, can our habits, works and thoughts? Change, indeed, is inevitable and painful.
All great changes are disagreeable of long continuance to the human mind, especially those changes that are attended with calamities, difficulties and uncertain situations.
Even though it is too early to tell if those changes are permanent, but the changes brought by the novel coronavirus are forcing many of us to reflect on what really matters in our lives. Many cities are reopening — lockdowns are easing and lifting.
We are starting to feel we can perceive a return, however, partial and slow, to normal. The novel COVID-19 has changed us. Being on lockdowns and quarantines have been wretched and unpleasant on balance.
Many of us have understood there are many things or some things about lockdown life that are worth inspiring, motivating, emulating, preserving and maintaining.
At the same time living in quarantine or lockdown for months has brought some unusual and rare opportunity to meditate and reflect on our lives and to re-focus, reset them mostly the privileged among us.
Many workers like bankers whose jobs defined their lives are now meditating and asking what productivity was. Many of us are finding that the things that made us look different and successful also made us feel not well or miserable. Lockdown has given us the courage to come to terms or compare with new attitudes and new lifestyles.
As we look forward to preparing for post-lockdown and post COVID-19 — many people want to preserve some of these changes. Right as necessity is the mother of invention, so ambition is the mother of achievement; and father of both of them is opportunity.
For me as English Tutor – writer; all schools are closed, the opportunity finally came. I had never hidden my ultimate ambition — I wanted to be a columnist, and whatever and however else I composed seven articles published by different media organizations during the lockdown. I can’t wait for this moment — and with high degree of certainty and satisfaction – writing article every week has come to stay.
Spending more time in nature has given many people I interviewed the opportunity to develop a routine that involves listening to themselves, family and relatives. They get the opportunity to maintain sanity during the lockdown. Many parents have given their kids chance to run around and also to understand the problems of their family. They also appreciate their family members and friends who have been there for them during these frightening days.
For some sections of the economy, especially those driven by technology across the globe led to million of people working from home. This shows we can do many jobs in the comfort of our homes.
The lockdown gives the opportunity to exercise daily. We have been getting into running and activities as a recipe to cope with the lockdown. The quarantine period inculcates ‘reading culture’ in us. Many writers revive the glory of reading and research. I noticed proliferation of new writers and political affairs analysts and social critics. It promotes unity and integration in our community.
The lockdown has reduced a lot of pressure by making us to slow down in many ways. Being locked in our house has made many of us realize that we have spent many years pressing ourselves without having some rest. It has enabled us to save money. We spent less for fear of the unknown. Many of us are now philanthropists — some of us who did not get the opportunity to go to Hajj this year due to COVID-19 pandemic are here with the less privileged to do their own sacrifices.
With quarantine and lockdown, good attitudes and characters came of it. But it is paramount to understand that it is okay if good or bad came out of this lockdown.
We must admit that the lockdown brought calamities as well as lessons. The two sides are forcing many of us to reflect on what really matters in our lives.
As they say, adversity has advantages!
Muazu Jibril Muazu is a public affairs analyst from Kano and you reach him via his email: muazumj@gmail.com
