Gates are opening all over the country! Gates of theatres, restaurants, parks, malls, swimming pools and so on. Streets are thronging, shops are bustling, as Covid-19 seems to be in full retreat. But even as gates open again, are ours opening too?
We, who have seen death close at hand, maybe a neighbour, father, brother, friend or wife, are we coming back together different? Hushed and silent, from the throes of grief or shock do we view our lives and that of those who lived through those fearful times, with different lens? Very often when going through a near death situation, we come out changed, but today it is not one man, one woman, or one country that has glimpsed death at close quarters, it is the world.
More than six billion people were afraid, petrified, and wondered if there was going to be a tomorrow, and in the middle of this feeling of fear, came the thought that life was valuable. In the middle of evading the dreadful affect of the virus came the realization that the petty fights and divides that we often brought between ourselves needed to be thrown away. But today are we doing so?
The virus was a wakener as how precious life is, but has it changed us?
Looking at the war in Ukraine, it certainly did not change some over there. What the virus couldn’t do, missiles, tanks and guns are doing. Fear of the virus is being replaced by hate. Hate for Russia, hate for the US. You name it, and we’ve got a hate tag ready to be attached.
The gates are swinging open, and can we swing open the gates of our minds too? To new thoughts and ideas; that the virus made no distinction between the rich and poor, and quite often the sick and the healthy. It struck all down. And what our laws and our Constitution couldn’t do the pandemic did, it made all men equal!
Can we, with our minds open take that thought of equality and live in a new opening up world? That just as the pandemic, a force of evil could make us all equal, that love, goodness and understanding, which I believe are the opposite of the evil forces of the pandemic, can work towards making a better, and just world, at least a better and equal India for all of us.
We have a choice, open our minds to a post pandemic period of perfect progress, where one progresses from hate to love, from negativity to positivity or we can go back like Putin to the old order of violence and suspicion.
The gates are opening, let our minds swing open also, to a new beginning of brotherhood..!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
We are those kind of people who have a tendency to take things for granted. We don’t really learn lessons from the past. Covid must have receded but not gone. Even today we have two cases in my society.
Thank you Bob for this much needed reminder. Everyone having been on a level playing field across the world, we must now carry forward the lessons learnt over the past two years and live changed lives with love and compassion, thus making the earth a better place.
Many epidemics had come and gone which showed all humans are equal.All humans need nutrition,sleep,sex as their primary need and associated with these need humans have fear and needs entertainments while living this monotonus life.But alas!man is still in deep slumber not awakening!
We fear death, we react only we understand when a death threat is nearing us.
Global warming is also a death threat. But we are not serious about it, as it is slow in implementing.
A very serious point to be acted upon.
Will keep in mind!
When a gate to something pleasant is thrown open, even if the entry is free , there are a few who will still try to keep others from entering.
Such people have zero empathy and will never learn or change . They survive on schadenfreude.
Jesus said, ”I stand at the door (of your heart) and knock. If any man opens the door,I will come in, sup with him and he with Me. ” He’s the door to heaven.He said, “love one another as I have loved you. ” Jesus is the answer over the world.