“So many times I have imagined a lot of things, building infinite manors of possibilities in my head; yet never have I imagined that I’d get to live to witness one of the darkest days in the history of humanity…” The Little Mermaid, MMXX
I would have palpably hoped that our contemporary reality-this torturous exile, this cyclopean deprivation, this ruthless protracted separation from our dears, this enduring suffering were all only part of a ghastly nightmare; that sooner or later I’d wake up from a torpid, deceptive slumber to my ordinary ubiquitous existence, but alas! I veil my eyes in terror of the extraordinary scale of cataclysm that faces us today-the Coronavirus; and gushing tears bear asseveration to my sympathy for the unutterable ruin that this pandemic is fomenting. My precious friends, we are in desperate straits. Nothing I say can change what you are going through, nay, please permit me to participate in your sharing of grief during these turbulent moments. I would like to tender my solemn condolences to those of you who have lost your loved ones. I would like to tell those of you cripplingly consumed by a sense of indefinable anxiety, inconsolable sadness and lingering uncertainty that you are not alone. I stand by your side. We are in this together.
During my period of quarantine in conjunction with being my inveterate pensive self, I have been doing some chasmic thinking on the art of living, our potentiality as humans and on our susceptibility ‘to get it wrong’, because, I hate to admit it, we did get it wrong! 30 882 deaths worldwide of our kindred brothers and sisters as at 29.03.2020. It is bone-chilling. But, I am uncomprehendingly wondering, in parallel, how much it must have hurt for that baby kangaroo to watch her mother smeared in blood, writhing in agony during the recent Australian bushfires. Did the koala also bear aches and pains from the excoriating heat? Are dogs harmed when their skin is barbarously scourged, when they are boiled and burnt alive to make stew? Does it distress an animal as huge as an elephant when it is slaughtered for ivory? How about monkeys, when they are austerely traumatized by being victims of well-intentioned brutal psychological and physical harassment in cages or laboratories? Do you mull over the inhumane, unforgiving nature of the inexpiable sin humanity is heathenishly committing on these poor living things? Please take a moment to hear their cries of hopelessness, to see the abominable misery through their eyes, to feel the overwhelming desolation in their heart for once? They have never asked for death, either. With unscrupulous veracity I confess that I have sinned. You have sinned. We have sinned together. Milton Friedman remarked, “Only a crisis-actual or perceived-produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. That, I believe is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes the politically inevitable.” Now that we have been condemned to put up with the same fate of those animals, let us hope and reflect on a new order of life that respects the animal kingdom.
By the same token, I, regretfully, cannot say much in praise of our collective enterprise to safeguard our natural environment; for our foolish transgressions have far exceeded our acts of grace. Our whole civilization is unsustainable. Calculated by the Global Footprint Network, Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year far surpasses what Earth can regenerate in that particular year. Having cummulated a galactic ecological deficit by drawing down the ecological reserve life as a planetary process built up over 3.8 billion years of life’s evolution on Planet Earth, we perpetuate this deficit by liquidating stocks of ecological resources, defying the food chain and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Since 1988, a mere 100 companies have been responsible for 71% of the entire world’s greenhouse gas emissions with China Coal (14.3%) topping the list. How is this acceptable? We glory in the continuity of our species, turning a blind eye to the irredeemable destruction we are triggering. But when any whole nation becomes the victim of the destructive powers of exterior agents like the Coronavirus, then indeed man shrinks into insignificance, he feels his tenure of life threatened, his inheritance on Earth cut off. Because we refuse to brave, we refuse to act, we refuse to bend down, the Universe will teach us our priorities in hard ways.
In different degrees, in every part of the town, in every country, men and women are yearning for a reunion. Most of us are longing intensely for an absent one, for the pleasant warmth of a beloved’s body pressed against our own, for an affectionate hug. Yet, such is the absurdity of human nature that during our normal day, there is always something more important to do, more important to say-but “I love you” is not one of those things. Let us live for each other and for happiness; let us seek peace in our dear home, near the inland murmur of the streams, and the gracious waving of the trees, the beauteous vesture of Earth, and the sublime pageantry of the skies. As we woefully bid a heavy farewell to our family members and friends, let us, on all counts, renounce this false grandeur of ego, vanity and rivalry. This pandemic is no respecter of people. Under its despotical rule, everyone from the high man on the totem pole down to the almsperson is under sentence. Notice how we have ceased to choose for ourselves. Coronavirus has leveled out discrimination-and for the first time, I observe impartial justice reigning in the world. Nothing lasts forever, be it good or bad. Things will improve, but let not humanity be so far disgraced in the future, as to have it imagined that it can be without love or friendship.
At the peak of Coronavirus to the shrill crescendo of humanity’s universal cry for fairness and mercy, it produces a sentiment of gladness in me to discover the constellations of solidarity, altruism and improvisation that lie dormant within us to reappear. There are philanthropists around the world who are making real contributions for an eleemosynary purpose. Let me just give you the example of Italy, one of the worst infected countries: Giorgio Armani has given over $2.2 millions to hospitals in Milan and Rome. Altogether, Italy’s billionaires have given more than $45 million in donations to hospitals, healthcare facilities and government agencies since the crisis began in February. Even our local community has to be lauded. It is emboldening to see people sharing food, fruits and vegetables among themselves during this period of confinement. There are hotel owners around the world who have voluntarily come forward with their plan to set up their hotels as Coronavirus quarantine centres. Our frontline soldiers: the doctors and the police deserve unmeasured adulations. All these gestures of civic spirit, of kindness scream, “We are in this together”.
Will my readers ask how I find solace amidst the endless bombardment of tall stories, false information; how am I coping with the feel of loneliness by being cut off from the rest of the world? I, quite frankly, avow that I have not been unmoved by the development of the tale; and that I have been melancholic, at worst, disappointed. I meditate and send positive, healing energy to the Universe. I do deep breathing exercises and yoga, especially the sun salutation daily in the morning to reduce anxiety. I practise zumba as a form of indoor sports as well as I listen to soothing music to calm my nerves. I make sure that I am spending quality time with my family and with my dog, Oscar. I read books. I keep pace with the latest progress regarding Coronavirus from reliable sources. As any law-abiding citizen, I comply with directives of the government to the letter because during such uncertain times, the least desirable sequela is social unrest. And lastly, journaling is a form of relaxation which allows me to shut off the external, to order the chaos in my mind and to connect with myself.
Albert Camus asserted that there is no love of life without despair of life. Let us seize this very moment to become more intimate with our sense of being, to awaken our purpose and use this knowledge as a tool to dismantle the old ways of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and thinking. Earth is a living system, an immense organism, still developing, regulating itself, making its own oxygen, maintaining its own temperature, keeping all its infinite living parts fundamentally connected and interdependent, including us. It can keep us awake and jubilant with questions for millennia ahead if we learn not to meddle and not to destroy. I hope what lies ahead of us is the promise of a truly regenerative, collaborative, just, peaceful and equitable human civilization, backed by the increscent strength of our force and of our determined wills. Hope springs eternal in the human breast. At this unprecedented turn of events, let us hope for the best, and be prepared for the worst.
Please share your thoughts on the Coronavirus. How is the quarantine period going on in your country? What gives you strength? What renews your faith? What are the challenges that you are facing? What changes in your current lifestyle do you wish to bring about in the wake of this macabre pandemic crisis? Or, leave a personal message for us. Remember: we are in this together; it is nothing but our togetherness that will overpower the Coronavirus.
Love & Light,
The Little Mermaid
