Emerging from a war unscathed is impossible, and that is what Covid19 feels like – a war on humanity by a tiny little virus known as Coronavirus or Covid19.
My hope and dreams are that the lessons learned during this pandemic are going to continue post-Covid19.
We all know very well that we’ll be entering a very much changed world and I hope that I am not being too idealistic but this is what I would like to see…
EMPATHY AND A SENSE OF COMMUNITY
I’ve seen a whole lot of these attributes coming to the fore during lockdown; we should first and foremost care for our family but not forget about the people who live around us and then also those further afield who are in desperate need of help.
We found some fresh produce that were only available in bulk so instead of letting it waste away in the refrigerator, we’ve passed it on to neighbours.
What happened to the days when Mom made a batch of cookies and packed a couple into a pretty container to be given to a friend or neighbour?
Many people live in abject poverty, and I hear some of you saying how can we help them?
I’ve been doing a good old spring-clean and de-cluttering; tons of stuff pushed to the back of cupboards that I really have no need for, but may be a lifesaver to others.
Items like old blankets, linen, towels, clothes, shoes, kitchenware, appliances, books and tools to name but a few.
There are many charities that are willing to come and pick up so it’s not even necessary to get into your car if you’re unable to drop off, or you could donate to community centres who work with people in need.
Most of all, just as this virus knows no boundaries, let us treat everyone equally and with respect and not be led by misconceptions, so… never judge a book by its cover!
BETTER HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
This is something we all need to push for with our politicians or other decision makers; every person deserves good medical care!
I believe we should further lobby for preventative care through programs that teach people how to take charge of their own health and immunity with good nourishment, exercise programs, meditation classes, how to be vigilant with personal hygiene and how to be proactive in maintaining the environment around us.
Parks need to be maintained to encourage city dwellers to go out into fresh air and walk.
Entertainers need to be subsidized as good entertainment is a great stress reliever which improves the general well-being of people.
Everyone needs to recognize their talents and use it to better not only their own lives but that of others around them.
I believe all of these things will make for a happier and healthier world.
EVERYONE TO BE ECO-CONSCIOUS AND SELF-SUFFICIENT
A valuable lesson I learned during our strict lockdown was that we need to become more self-sufficient as we could not run to the stores at the drop of a hat like before.
A good way to start is by growing our own fruits and vegetables.
If you don’t have a garden, you can start a container garden on your balcony and if you only have a window sill, at least grow your own herbs.
We started our veggie garden a while back and had some fresh produce, but not near enough as we did not do any monkey proofing and of course they took all the beans and peas, even pulling up carrots! But we did have some so it’s been a great help.
Fruits and veggie peels as well as egg shells can all be used to make your own compost, saving money and also feeding your garden and lessening the burden on the garbage bin!
We set up a rainwater harvesting system and that’s been great for watering the garden as well as topping up the pool.
We still want to connect the system to the house and install a filtration system in order to have a backup supply as we’re often faced with water outages due to old municipal water main pipes failing and taking hours to repair.
We all need solar systems to power our homes. This costs a whole lot of money but I believe it should be subsidized by government as it would benefit the environment as well.
We further need to see more wind farms as this is a wonderful clean way of producing energy but our governments again need to step in and make this happen.
SUPPORT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES
With us not being able to run to the stores on a whim, we’ve discovered a couple of local small businesses that give excellent service.
My Fruits & Veggies on Wheels fresh produce vendor has been delivering produce to us for years; everything comes straight from the market and has not been refrigerated to death so not only is fresher but of course also tastes better.
It makes good sense to support your local business not only from an economic viewpoint but also for a fresher product. One could walk to the local shop if possible and not take the car, less petroleum emissions on the roads and less wear and tear on your car plus you’re getting fit at the same time.
MOVING TOWARDS PLANT-BASED FOODS
It is very likely that eating meat is the root cause of many pandemics as the animals are kept in shocking and overcrowded conditions, so I’d like to see us all moving towards a plant-based diet as this is not only beneficial to our health, but also kinder to the animals.
All these may sound like a hard ask, but I believe it is possible.
Importantly, to get this kind of change, we need to start changing ourselves from within, so I will leave you with the following quote by Mahatma Gandhi:
This has been my response to @ecotrain's Question of the Week: What changes would you like to see happen after Covid19
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