Adjusting Our Lives After the Pandemic

Halfway through the year, people were already deciding that 2020 is their worst year. It is true, the world was besieged with so many problems this year, foremost on the list is the Covid-19 pandemic.

But there is a flip side to every situation. This year, people also got more time to focus and reflect on their lives. Those who had been caught up in the bustle of the years past because they had very demanding jobs are suddenly faced with a different kind of work setup. It makes one think, had the overdrive before really been necessary?

With the new norms emerging due to the pandemic, we need to reflect on how we had been doing things in the past and how we could move forward stronger and better.

The consumerist lifestyle

In the years past, we never had a problem in accessing supplies that we needed. Then suddenly, shipments didn’t come. Supplies started to dwindle together with the increase in demand due to panic buying. Toilet papers, disinfectants, and medical supplies were running out at the start of the pandemic.

Let us rethink our consumption habits. We are used to thinking there are unlimited resources. But we had been proven wrong. As supplies started to deplete, what were we able to use as an alternative? From this experience, we understood better what needs were and what had merely been objects of convenience.

When something’s broken, we immediately threw it away. We upgraded our gadgets almost every year. Even for simple matters like having troubles with a backlight or a flashlight feature, we discarded phones even if it had been much cheaper if we took it for a phone repair.

Neglect of the environment

After a few weeks of being locked down, much of the world had been surprised when we suddenly saw improvements in our environment—mountain peaks can be seen from our windows, animals roaming freely on the streets. We had forgotten how it was to coexist with nature because the smog from our activities had not only polluted the air but also made us forget what we were giving up in exchange for our ever-increasing ‘productivity’ rates.

We thought that the canals of Venice would always have to look murky. We thought that the urban centers would always be devoid of mountain views. But we were wrong. We made it that way; we just didn’t bother to adjust or refine our activities so that our environment could remain pristine. We got used to living like cockroaches in dirty environs, used to the smoke, garbage, all kinds of pollution.

Work-play balance

The pandemic has taught us that we could never know what might happen tomorrow; however, we plan for it. We had saved our leave days for a grand vacation, but suddenly we are forced to stay home. We had foregone our vacation leaves so that we will have more funds for our retirement years, but we don’t know if we would be able to live to see those years.

If nothing else, what happened this year underlined the fact that nothing is certain in life except for the current moment we are experiencing. So stop living for the future. It doesn’t mean you also stop dreaming of what you want for the future, but you should learn how to balance it. You shouldn’t be forgetting the life you currently live because you are too focused on building your future. Take a break. Don’t take anything too seriously. Give yourself time to relax and enjoy what you can right now.

Families

Do you have a family? Have you been spending time with them? Do you really know them? How is your relationship with them now? Some families have welcomed the quarantines and the consequent work from home arrangements. Others, on the other hand, were perplexed, finally coming to terms that maybe they don’t know how to manage their children after all, that they couldn’t stand the attitude of a sibling they have been living with for several years. Maybe now is the time to get to know each other and build a relationship. There is no excuse anymore for not sitting together for a meal. There is no excuse why you cannot talk when there’s a disagreement when both of you are at the house all the time.

We should not forget that we only have this one life. Instead of despairing that the turn of events had ruined our plans, think of it as an opportunity to recalibrate our lives. It is an opportunity to reflect what really matters, and think of how we could reclaim these before we lose them.

Meta title: Living a New LIfe Post-Covid-19

Meta description: The pandemic has disrupted the lives of billions of people. But instead of seeing only its negative effects, take this opportunity to recalibrate your life.