A Pleasant POV in Such Chaos
Some nice things to appreciate in an uncertain year.
This article does not provide any useful information about COVID-19. It is solely an attempt of reflection about it. If you are looking for trustworthy information regarding COVID-19, please refer to WHO Website or other official sites.
Needless to say, 2020 has been quite eventful so far. We went through global financial concerns, almost warlike events and now a declared pandemic. I’m usually rather pessimist, but I have decided to make a hard stop for once in a while and rationally contemplate what’s going on.
This is what I found nice.
What We All Know
In the course of this frightening scenario many of us, myself included, got concerned about mankind’s ability to mitigate and overcome certain situations. COVID-19 unveiled that we have have buttons to destroy the world in all sorts of ways, but there is no button to save it.
I think we are all on the same page so I don’t want this to be another article flooding the internet about COVID-19.
Just to say that I have seen people with misleading speeches, some of them I find dismissive while others are comparatively psychotic. We have also witnessed all sort of primitive reactions such as riding for toilet paper, water and so other basic needs. To sum up, a scene that is unpleasant to see.
What I Appreciate
Once again we are being reminded of how fragile, limited and exposed we all are, but its also an opportunity to bring out the best of us.
Social media platforms on curating information.
As COVID-19 continues to spread and as many leaders fail to handle things, people are starting to remember why these platforms are important after all.
We have witnessed all major social medias stepping ahead and curating misleading content and sourcing information from official sites.
Content generators taking the lead.
Many content creators are aware that we need to boost our morale. Whether is a business strategy or not, I have seen these stars proactively double or even triple the amount of content that they deliver in order to ease the quarantine in most affected zones.
Private sector on philanthropy
Fortune companies have once more put their costumers first.
Inditex provided 300M and donated 300K face-mask, besides pledging its installations for logistics.
Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Ford & Honda will help to manufacture machines for respiratory aid.
Telepizza & Rodilla providing food for schoolers.
PornHub has released its adult content for a month for free for everyone in Spain, Italy and France.
LVMW to provide free hand sanitizer for french hospitals.
Hotels offer up to 60.000 beds in case of shortage in hospitals in Spain.
Movistar will gift to its customers 30GB of data and free content.
Vodafone on free child content for COVID-19 afflicted.
Microsoft on 6 months of free software for home office for businesses.
Facebook grants a total of 100M to small business affected by COVID-19.
Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma, donates 14M to develop vaccine and 1.5M face mask.
Home office.
Remote positions have been around for a long time, but it seems like a lot of people have just experienced the benefits of it. It’s a great opportunity to show the world the perks that we all can enjoy: lower emissions, lower costs of operation, better life quality, and more time for ourselves!
Bring the best version of yourself by using this time and opportunity to top up your energies.
Finally, a delightful word from the Italian psychologist Francesca Morelli.
In a society that is based on productivity and consumption, in which we all run 14 hours a day in pursuit of something, without rest, without pause, suddenly a forced stop is imposed on us. Quietly, at home, day after day. Counting the hours of time we have lost the value of, if not measured in retribution of some kind or in money. Do we still know how to use our time without a specific purpose?
At a historical moment in which certain discriminatory policies and ideologies, with strong claims to a shameful past, are resurfacing all over the world, a virus appears that makes us experience that, in the blink of an eye, we can become the discriminated against, those who are not allowed to cross the border, those who transmit diseases
In a dimension in which interpersonal relationships, communication, socialization, is carried out in the (non)virtual space, of the social networks, giving us the false illusion of closeness, this virus takes away from us the true closeness, the real one: that nobody touches, kisses, hugs each other, everything must be done at a distance, in the coldness of the absence of contact. How much have we taken for granted these gestures and their meaning?
Francesca Morelli. Published in Vita Non Profit 10th March 2020
