That Silver Lining

 

There's That Silver Lining, despite the gloom...

For more than half a year now, our skies remain gloomy, the horizons as dark as it can be but hey, we are not at the doors yet of our life's breaking point. But but but, if you don't have the wherewithal, yes it may break you.

Look for that silver lining, it’s there visually, not just for imagery. And there are tons and tons of upside we can reap from this pandemic. And topping that list? It’s knowing our immediate families inside-out like the palm of our hands. Things have gone unprecedented. Tough to admit but no one, not even couples, parents and kids, no one have really come to be that familiar with each other in their lives prior to this pandemic. You all could be under one roof but work, business and tons for interventions caused you to be far apart on average ten to fifteen hours a day, and that’s a huge chunk of being far apart.

Whereas for more than seven months now, we’re literally glued to our spouse, partner, kids and even siblings for streaks of 24 hours day-in day-out. Where’s the upside then? It’s knowing them up close, their idiosyncracies, their peculiarities, even mannerisms hitherto unknown to you. And as I echoed in my blog post sometime May, like it or not, this is the time for us to ADAPT, ADJUST or ACCEPT.

Bob Riley, the respected former governor of Alabama was widely quoted: “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the “hero” within us is revealed”. For novices now in crisis mode, you are akin to that ‘tiny seed that in order to grow, it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness and struggle to reach the light’.

Business mogul Henry Ford aptly said: ‘When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it’. It is for expediency sake when you need to 'go against the weather' but doing so must be in the collective interests of your family [for your home life] and your company [for your work life]. Never go astray from the rightful path because working with the devil may likely lead you to retribution that will be absolutely swift, decisive and agonizing.

What have we learnt from this pandemic? Tons of it but to capsulize, it’s all captured in our resiliency. Being health-conscious, this is unprecedented. Admittedly, I myself, I have never been as health conscious before as I am now, no thanks to this pandemic [in the past, I never imagine myself having daily turmeric drinks and chomping diced raw ginger but here I am having all these]. That emotional piece, regulating our emotions with calm and control prevailing, that is an ingredient in our survival kit in this pandemic. That persistence to survive and bounce back, that’s in a survivor’s kit. That problem-solver skills, that resourcefulness and putting words into action, that’s non-negotiable.