The Quarantine Teaser.

Word of the Year

There are two ways we humans learn. One is through the experiences of others with a particular event. The second is where we experience any given situation with a direct impact on us. The earlier method of learning is often ignored as it has no direct impact on us. We are only calibrating with the experiences of a stranger. The second one albeit difficult to bear is an inspirational form of learning. For this is where our reckonings of quotidian life get impacted. Walking out through such experiences into normalcy is the culture that gets deep rooted within us.

The current event is a bitter nudge to all through the latter form of education. Learning through the pain inflicted on “us”. The world has been sent into a quarantine with COVID-19 causing havoc of gigantic proportions. The fear is not based on the contagion alone, but the manner in which it creates a ripple effect.

Yes, things are grim. Anyone not taking due precautions is a live threat as things stand. Countries who did not take the pandemic seriously are now sending out warning signals on how horribly wrong they were. In times as these, we must adhere to the experts, validated immune boosting remedies and above all stay isolated.

‘Quarantine’ as a term has already bagged the spot for the word of the year – hands down. Alternatively, the virus can very well be a game changer of the century!

My attempt in trying to be an optimist here got me thinking loud on what are the benefits humans can accrue on such an outbreak and lockdown. Varied social media forwards have been reverberating on the scares and positives alike through the outbreak. When there isn’t much to do, it is a test of human endurance to avoid these messages. Claims of the air getting cleaner, CO2 emissions dropping, people getting healthier, belief in God on the rise are mostly part of WhatsApp news than being backed by any solid data yet. I even read a forward that said “What if Covid-19 was the earth’s vaccine and we’re the virus” Phew! we are living in the best epoch of entertainment ever.

The data we must be interested in right now should be the findings coming out of infected patients, cities or countries. What is the impact of the virus on human body as time lapses? Is there a possibility of re-infection? What are the measures to be taken post recovery? What is a safe isolation period? What are the 5 critical learnings from China, Italy or Spain? And of-course the most pervasive one – is there an antidote?

What we can do?

I would wait for science to come up with the answers and anything else that would be utterly critical to humans. Until then I can share an effective to-do list during your self-quarantine period.

• Meditate – The storm in our mind can be more dangerous than any epidemic. How do we calm our anxieties and focus on the urgent and simple things? The time on our hands right now can be effectively used for meditation as we practice social distancing. The art of finding yourself thrives in isolating the self from everything that you were doing and everyone you have been hobnobbing with. Before trying to know the world, try knowing yourself. Simple techniques of concentrating on your breathing can slide you effortlessly into the blissful world of your inner peace. This can also make you love the wonders of isolation forever!

• Read – What better time and occasion to sharpen your minds than now. Reading and gaining knowledge of the unknown will always have you well equipped in dealing with situations that might seem awkward. Since you do not have the time to commit all mistakes and learn by yourself, learning from the experiences of others are absolutely rewarding when applied consciously. Besides a good book will have you gripped even beyond the quarantine phase.

• Working out – Staying fit is a routine one should follow diligently at all times. However, in times as these a daily 30-minute routine can do wonders in boosting your immunity levels. An aspect that has scientifically proven to be the most effective against the current pandemic. If you have never been into it like some of my family members, this is the right time to give it a go. Just like some of my family members.

• DIY Projects / Alternate passions – While you endeavour to find yourself through meditation, read on knowledge enhancing books and work out, you have positioned yourself to reignite some hidden skills within that can come to forefront. These skills can act as a stress buster, an alternate form of income or a radical career shift that you have been always looking for. My previous blog can hopefully give you the added lift in starting something afresh.

What the authorities and humans might do.

Well, these are some effective quarantine hacks you could endeavour to revamp yourself as an individual. Yet, what about the change we want to bring about as and in the larger human collective post this epidemic? Could this be an epidemic of further epidemics to follow in larger sizes? Or is this an epidemic as the final reminder to humans before we reach a point of no return? Since the impact is now directly on us and on those who matter, maybe this form of learning could prove to be the most effective. Until now most humans looked at threats as an impending upheaval which might not distress us currently. Climate change, scarcity of drinking water, food shortages, ecological meltdown were always seen as something that might erupt some 40-50 years from now.

The reason for this could also be that climate change caused by one country might not impact that country as much as it might tear apart a distant under-developed nation. COVID-19 has wiped off any such beliefs, with the current outbreak we are all in it together now. The visions and goals of the century might have therefore changed at most political desks and superpowers. For the impact at one city in China, can very well resonate at a distant town in the United States or Canada. The current pandemic might be the game changer of this century in bringing a radical shift of thought among the authority and people.

Global powers might turn an eye away from the favored arms race and invest heavily into preparing for biological and technological warfare. Businesses might start devising stronger insulators to safeguard profits in the event of such calamities. International federations, unions and countries might create tougher immigration policies, travel advisories and have zero tolerance on outliers. Insurance companies might restructure the actuarial of calculating human risks. Pharmaceutical establishments might launch life-saving drugs from such unknown epidemics that would help propel their stocks on the market.

What we must do?

The above are expected to materialize. Yet we as a human collective, should constantly pose the question of how would we deal if we had to face the impending catastrophes mentioned above. We might not have the current protection of hand sanitizers or face masks in the event of a climate or environmental melt down. Should we be keenly listening to the experts who are breaking their heads on what needs to be done? We could retort to meditation, books and music in times of a home isolation.

What are we to do if we get subjected to an environmental isolation? We are so ignorant from the idea of conserving all that we love. Who is to set right this rampant problem of ours? Maybe at some level this required a systemic shakedown to reset or delay a larger problem. The larger problem of resource scarcity that are abused at will today or the slaughter of all remaining species on earth.

Will our behavior change, when we are forced to sit in our homes and reflect on the world outside? How do we gather ourselves when this is all over? Do we come out victoriously or with a plan to avoid such fiasco? Will we as normal individuals say no to all that which torments this planet and its natural resources? Will we stop in our mad rush for fame and excess at the cost of burning down all that which saves us? Maybe we will start doing all of this for our own future with this blocker on the highway of our lives as a teaser to what might await. Maybe, this vaccine meant for humans is not a mere forward or joke after all!