The positive side of Covid-19

The outbreak of Corona Virus (COVID-19) is perhaps the biggest disruption the generations from Gen X onward have seen. Never ever we had seen the entire world coming to a freezing halt in our life! Major epidemics or financial crises of earlier times never ever caused this size of world crisis.

It is indeed uncertain as to how we all will come out of this problem. However, I can see some positives in this unusual situation that we all are passing through.

This virus has forced almost all governments to shut down all activities in their countries, except for those essential for survival of their people. 

1. This must have dramatically reduced pollution levels of the world. No traffic congestion, no honking, reduced accidents…
2. This has forced many families to come together, may be after a very long period!
3. People are finding ways & means of spending time together happily… Things like playing cards, chess or other indoor games… something we played in the childhood, are getting revived
4. People are watching movies or other programs that they wanted to watch since long…
5. We all are calling our friends, relatives & asking them about their well-being…
6. It’s silence all around… Good time to seek inner peace… Meditation!
7. Offices are shut down. Bosses are also at home! Stress levels down.
8. Some are reading their favorite books, something they wanted to read for a long time
9. Parents are able to spend good time with their kids. Such a nice thing to do!
10. Yes, there is great likelihood of a financial crisis. But you are not alone… So no great worry. In fact, we get to know how much time & money we were spending on unnecessary, costlier things. In fact, things that give us happiness don’t cost much….We are discovering this.

You are free to add the positives to the above list. One thing that I have realized the most is – The entire world was running too fast. There was a need to press the ‘Pause’ button somewhere. The current situation has done that for us.

We never got time to stop & check whether we are doing right things for ourselves. The situation today is offering that opportunity. We can take some time to cross check if we were on right track, what makes us indeed happy, what should we do next, who are the people with whom we want to spend most of our time…

I’m sure, when this problem gets over and we start our normal life again, the world would have changed. It would never be the same old world again. We would have been more empowered to make our choices.

Do you agree?

© Nitin Kirloskar