You Decide What Life Will be Like After COVID-19
What do you want a post-pandemic world to look like?
The current state of the world is one giant mess. Alright, that pretty much sums it up. That’s it for this article!
Nope. Strap in, ladies and gentlemen.
While some are too afraid to even make eye contact, others claim this whole pandemic is fake. However, many, including myself, lie somewhere in between, not being consumed by fear, yet remaining skeptical and vigilant.
One thing is for certain: the world simply cannot go on like this for much longer.
So what will it be like once this blows over? You might answer: how the hell should I know? We can’t just tell the virus to stop! That’s absolutely true, but we have much more say in the matter than you’d think, in many aspects of our lives.
In order to figure out where all of this is headed, let’s take a look at our current situation. What do the social interactions look like? What’s going on inside people’s homes? What’s going on inside people’s heads? Most importantly, how the hell is the future state of the world our decision??
Humanity’s Bad Side
If we can agree on one thing, it’s that people are really hurting. The economic toll has been devastating, with an estimated 17 million Americans filing for unemployment through April. The mental toll is arguably much worse, with suicide (50% rise in Australia), domestic abuse, anxiety, and depression rates skyrocketing. If those two alone aren’t bad enough, the toll on physical health from staying indoors has made both considerably worse.
As I alluded to in the beginning of this article, the tension between people has never been worse (at least, in my lifetime). If you’re not sure what I mean, just look at our social interactions — the ones that we still have.
Walk into a grocery store and you’ll see darting eyes, fearful glances, the fear of getting too close to someone.
In addition to these tense social interactions, there’s also something else going on: I’ll refer to it as “the online ideology wars”. What are these ideology wars?
Some believe the virus will kill everything in its path, while others believe the virus is not as bad as it seems.
If religion versus science, vegan versus non-vegan, and Democrat versus Republican weren’t bad enough, here is yet another subject which has proven to divide and tear people apart.
Just think about the Bakersfield Doctors. In short, after conducting thousands of COVID-19 tests in Bakersfield, CA, they found some controversial results. So they held a video press conference and shared their data. Within days, YouTube removed the video and the American College of Emergency Physicians publicly condemned them.
Regardless of their controversial claims, these doctors were attempting to share real, unfiltered data in an attempt to shed light on the situation, yet they were quickly deprived of their ability to do so. Maybe some of their claims were controversial or incorrect, but what does that say about our world and this country if only certain people are allowed to speak?
That sets quite a dangerous precedent.
What world are we agreeing to if we allow this censorship? Frankly, a world where we are treated like useless children; a world where “the adults” shield our eyes and ears from certain “dangerous” ideas and messages, simply because they go against the grain.
I’m assuming not everyone who reads this is a doctor, biostatistician, or epidemiologist. Does that mean that when these qualified officials speak, it is everything there is to know?
Of course not, medical professionals are people too. Therefore, blindly nodding our heads and acquiescing to their claims seems a bit naive, doesn’t it? Again, many of us may not be scientists, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go on PubMed or find the CDC data, and simply look at the research for ourselves. That also doesn’t mean we can’t listen to different interpretations of the data by other qualified professionals. One doctor or one organization is not the be all end all of information.
In my own life, I’ve seen how fervently people can hold on to a belief.
When I see information which differs from the mainstream narrative, my first instinct usually isn’t to ring the alarms in my head, hit control, alt, delete, and shut down.
I usually resist the strong urge to believe I’m right, I entertain the controversial opinion, do the research myself, and come to my own conclusion with the help of friends and family.
I’ve had quite a few reactions when sharing different sources of information regarding COVID-19. Some friends get angry with me and even ridicule me for sharing something so “obviously wrong”. Others are skeptical, yet open-minded and humble enough, to investigate rather than falling victim to confirmation bias.
All of this has revealed the true character of the people around me, from those who are skeptical yet open-minded, to those who are simply walking and talking dogmas. Thankfully, few friends have proved to be the latter.
It’s easy to note the negative behaviors of others, but much harder to recognize it in yourself. That being said, I have definitely noted some of my worst behaviors during quarantine. I’ve snapped at my friends and family, had a lack of motivation at times, and felt like flipping off the whole world.
Why is all of this relevant?
Throughout history, major world events have always been useful at revealing the worst and best of human nature. The current COVID-19 pandemic has mercilessly done so for humanity’s worst traits.
However, there’s always some Yin to all the Yang.
Humanity’s Good Side
Although we’ve seen some nasty sides to people, we’ve also seen how strong and caring people can be. In an attempt to maintain some sort of normalcy, as well as human connection, we’ve gotten creative.
Some friends of mine have started virtual game nights. Others have told me they have done virtual workouts with their friends. Although all of this is not the real human contact we’re used to, that love and fire in people has not been extinguished.
During my time in quarantine, I have come to a few realizations:
- I want to improve my quality of life. There are always things to improve about oneself: from reducing snarky comments to halting negative thought patterns. However, constantly striving to become a better version of oneself, often hinders your ability to enjoy life as you are. Always working towards a state of perfection is exhausting. In order to enjoy life there must be a unique balance between striving to be some way and enjoying life as you are.
- I need to appreciate the time I have with my friends and family. Despite the fact that I tend to do alright by myself, I truly miss being with people. Maybe part of the reason spending time alone has not bothered me, is because I am in control of that. In this case, however, I had no say in who I could see and who I could not see. Often we think of life as constant, but then out of nowhere, a pandemic shows up and turns our world upside down. As much as it may seem, life is anything but constant. There is no guarantee of seeing anyone again. We might have that in the back of our heads, as it’s a common cliche saying. But it’s a complete truth, so I hope to be more present and appreciate people more when this is over.
- There’s always more to the story. Nowadays, we have access to millions of sources of information; from highly qualified people, to those making poorly edited YouTube videos. If there are multiple sources of conflicting information, it’s worth investigating. The steps the U.S. has taken in this pandemic is far from optimal, despite White House efforts to make it appear as if it were. So, go look at what Sweden’s top researchers are doing, or the steps Iceland’s government has taken. Surveying information from as many sources as possible is crucial at a time like this.
- When I get out of quarantine, I will fully embrace life. We may have restrictions now, but this will be over. When this ends, I want to appreciate more, understand more, and connect with people more. We often get caught up in our daily routines and forget to pay attention and appreciate things and people around us. Getting so caught up in our mental drama does not allow us to enjoy what is right in front of our eyes; whether it be as simple as a sunny day or as random as striking up a pleasant conversation with a deli worker at Kroger.
Your Actions are More Powerful than You Think
Every action has a reaction. Something as simple as a call to a friend can have a tremendous, reverberating impact.
What you see as simply a call, may result in both of your days being just that much brighter. You may say to yourself, Ok, that doesn’t sound tremendous and reverberating to me. At first glance, that’s absolutely true, but I urge you to see the Butterfly Effect in your actions. Humor me for a few seconds, and you’ll see what I mean.
Let’s take the example of calling a friend and run with it.
Scenario number 1: You call a friend, exchange banter, and have a pleasant conversation. After the conversation, it’s likely you and your friend will go about the day still carrying that feeling of pleasantness. If you want to get technical, this can be called priming in Psychology. What does this mean? That pleasant call will actually make you more likely to respond positively throughout the day, and less likely to snap at a parent, sibling, or stranger. Responding positively to your parents or siblings may put them, in turn, in a better mood, affecting their interactions with others. Instead of losing their patience with a Costco worker for not having enough toilet paper, maybe your parents will choose to refrain from such action. This is a silly example, but you can see how this could continue far beyond where the action began.
Scenario number 2: This is a much more extreme example, but is not out of the realm of possibility, especially during these times. Your friend has been dealing with depression for a while now and being alone indoors for so long has simply made it worse. He’s really struggling and is on the verge of taking a decision which cannot be undone. You decide to call him that day. You give him the support he needs. Your small action prevented a catastrophe. Again, as extreme as it may seem, this can and does happen.
Now think about doing small, positive actions like these consistently and frequently. Not only will you build up a habit of thinking and acting in a positive way, you’ll also bring that contagious energy to countless people, miles downstream of your actions.
I urge people not to wait for a tremendous opportunity in an attempt to change the world.
Instead, I urge people to realize that their small actions are in themselves tremendous. Each action you take begins with you, but it doesn’t end there.
The Fork in the Road
I currently see us closing in on two separate paths. Currently, it is a single two-lane road, but the time to make a decision is coming. We will not stay in a state of lockdown forever.
So, will we choose to remain in the lane we’ve chosen, letting ourselves be corralled into the lane of fear and hatred because it’s easy?
Or, will we lightly hit the brakes, turn our blinker on and consciously move towards the other lane? Towards the lane of strength, love, and truth, because we know deep within us that we are capable.
One thing is for sure, life after quarantine will never be the same again. What will it be like? I’m not exactly sure. What I do know, is that it’s a choice. We can choose to emerge from the lockdown as high-strung fear-mongering people who remain afraid of germs and people until the day we die.
Or, we can come out of this mess as strong-hearted people who, for too long, have gone without the presence of their loved ones. We can come out as people who realize their finitude and no longer wish to take others for granted, hold hatred in their hearts, or be constantly afraid for the short time they are on this Earth.
Rather than hiding in fear of an illness which an unhealthy body may not be able to handle, we can choose to emerge as people who choose to make themselves and their immune systems healthier and more resistant.
Life simply can not go on like this for much longer. So we are now faced with a decision. We can’t choose what happens to us, but we have complete control of how we react.
What will the world be like once this is over? Basically, it’s your choice. It’s my choice. It’s the intricate collection of all of our choices.
It starts with you…now.
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