Waiting for a New Dawn

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The world has been put through the wringer and as we try to get back to the old normal, it is time to ponder how much of them are worth fighting for. This pandemic is a reality check for everyone, totally unexpected as none saw it coming, and then lingering and upending the lifestyle that we got used to and took for granted. I saw a video clip detailing how a nurse found some patients horribly ill from the virus but refusing to believe that it was for real. Their oxygen levels were dropping and they were slipping away but they were on denial right till the end. Yes, I agree our awareness shifts according to our circumstances and if we are told we have only a day to live on this resplendent planet our preoccupations will be just different. We could well think was it all worth fretting over those that hardly matter to us in the overall scheme of life; a life of misplaced priorities, missing the forest for the trees. The Buddha was pampered as he was born into an aristocratic family but he became aware of the reality outside his secluded life when he stepped out of his palace to see for himself the suffering of people outside his privileged childhood. He did not look the other way as he felt he should go to the root of their suffering and do what he could to uplift them. This virus has made a few cocooned in their comfort zones while the vast majority have little choice but to lead their lives out in the open. Health professionals see death around them but helpless to prevent them. This made us more aware of the world around us and if we are in a hurry to get back to life as usual, we have then wasted this crisis to raise our awareness by a notch. A shift in consciousness will change our landscape and a better world will beckon that we all yearn for. In terms of technology we are ready to adapt, but why not in our lifestyle by reorienting our priorities to the basics that are highlighted in our beliefs? I like to put myself in others shoes when I get rattled by some obnoxious behavior. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” should help to get us back on track. We need compassion in this hour of crisis as ego and one-upmanship can put us back to the Stone Age. Albert Einstein said, "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." This virus has put us on notice that we are the most vulnerable of all species and we have to fight for survival and peace not with weapons of destruction but with compassion and coexistence. Image: Dawn from Pixabay