It is not certain if anyone living has ever seen such an unprecedented time in the history of humanity as the global pandemic, Covid-19 ravages the globe having varying effects of people. The news comes in daily and you are told to expect bad news and more bad news. News of loss. Everyone around the world has been affected one way or another but some more than others. I listened to the BBC news today and I learned that more than 2000 deaths were recorded within a period of 24-hours in the USA, which represents the largest number of coronavirus related deaths of people in one single day. The death toll around the world has also gone past 100,000 and about 1.7million people have been confirmed to be infected by the virus. Billions of others around the world are feeling the impact on their daily lives as no one knows when it will be over.
Where is hope, in the midst of crisis?
Have you ever felt so helpless? Are you in a situation that has thrown you out of control? Have you come to a point where what has always worked for you or what you always depended upon has now failed you? Are you about to give up?
The world is facing a very challenging time and everything is changing at a rapid and alarming rate leaving many with no idea of what to do or how to react. How do we handle such times that many have never witnessed in their lifetime?
Sometimes we decide to change but other times we are made to change. I learned an interesting lesson form the story of the Eagle, the king of birds. It is hatched from an egg, lives in the comfort and protection of the mother as it grows. There comes a time when the little eagle is taken on a journey in the air and allowed to enjoy a free ride but all of sudden amid comfort the help is withdrawn and the little eagle is left alone in mid-air. It has never happened before, disaster, out of control, crisis! These are some possible expressions of the current circumstance or situation. What do you when you do not know what to do? What can you do in times like this?
A crisis is hard but if you survive, it makes you stronger. The king of the birds learns to fly even amid uncertainties using all that is available to make the most of the situation. The situation was made to make the bird become what it already has the potential to become.
I will like to share 7 tips that could help you find the reason to hope even in times like this.
1. Believe in Hope
This is a global pandemic that has ravaged the world with many suffering the impact and they could not control it. Helpless! Many are counting losses of different kinds and others are counting future losses already as the reality becomes clear. It is difficult to lose but you need to help yourself and try to get back up again. You need the courage to start or continue from what is left as you believe that you can continue. It is possible from wherever you are to continue, you may not know how but someone does, so get up and believe there is hope. Seek help, information, guidance, and believe that you can get back up again. There is hope if you believe.
2. Change
There are some things you may never change until the power of crisis helps you change. Usually, human beings do not change until something happens. Crisis helps us change the way we think and what we believe in. This global crisis has pointed out the limit to human control and has shaken what many trust in. It has helped to change our value systems to appreciate some silent labours and value some people we never valued. Crisis brings about rapid and significant changes in the form of actions and reactions which may never have happened otherwise. Have you observed changes in laws, projects, and priorities all around the world? It may be a difficult task to implement a safety measure on an airplane for many years but if there is a plane crash there seems to be a change. I have seen traffic lights emerge after an accident or a new road layout after a collision.
Many a time we seem to learn when this Lecturer comes to class. It seems like we are forced to learn the lesson we missed or ran away from and we are allowed resit until we get it. That could explain why the whole world is in crisis and everyone reacts to it differently and we seem to see different results. This has happened unexpectedly and it may have pointed out somethings about you that you may need to change, and if you change for the better it would be for your good and the good of the world.
3. Learn the Lessons
It is interesting to note that we may never learn or understand somethings except through hardship or crisis or loss. There have been so many remarkable and applaudable efforts by individuals, groups, professionals, health organisations and national governments around the world to reduce the impact of the virus. I discovered that the response differs around the world and so also the impact.
My attention was particularly drawn to Taiwan which is very close to China where the virus started but they had only 6 total deaths to date according to Worldmeters and no new deaths. Taiwan is not part of the World Health Organisation but decided to implement series of measures, such as screening, aggressive containment, quarantine, and monitoring from December 31, 2019, which was the day it learned of the virus then unknown in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Why? You may ask. I discovered that in 2003, Taiwan was among the worst-hit territories during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak claiming 181 lives.
Taiwan’s National Health Command Center (NHCC) -set up during the SARS responded so quickly because of the crisis they have suffered in the past which they have learned lessons from and thus helping them to prevent a reoccurrence which could have been at a larger scale. If we learn the lesson from the loss, we have hope that we are prepared to save the future from further loss. There are lessons we can learn from all that is happening right now as an individual, group, or nation, and it can help preserve the future.
4. Make the most of the situation
The time of crisis is usually not the most comfortable. There is such much going on around the world and so many new laws that have made life different for so many people as they could not do what they want to do and probably how they would have loved to do it. Whatever the situation you find yourself today, if you cannot change it then you can make the most of it. Do whatever you can to improve your situation and make progress. I read of an airline pilot that was laid off during that crisis and he took up a temporary role as a delivery driver. There is no airplane to fly so he decided to do something to help himself and others.
Tough times never last, so refuse to be drowned in your current circumstance, if one way is shut there are many others open. One interesting thing about a crisis is that it has a dual effect which means one loses another gain, one door has shut another door is opened.
There are so many jobs affected by the crisis and there are so many other jobs created by the crisis. Make the most of the opportunity presented by the crisis while it lasts as it will help you to keep going. The collapse of a building, for instance, presents an opportunity to build a new and better one, or the loss of a job presents the opportunity to get a better one. Your present situations whatever that is presents an opportunity for a better tomorrow, make the most of it.
5. There is hope for the Living
Have you thought of giving up because of your current circumstance? No matter what the situation is, there is hope for you because you are still alive. Only the living can do something. You still have the time, potentials, and opportunities to make a difference from whatever level you are or have fallen to. If all you have left is breath, there is hope. One of the most interesting things in any biography is how an individual turned his pain, crisis, or challenges around to become relevant.
Don’t give up, if you are alive there is something you can do from where you are to make a difference. Do what is right and what could benefit others. Do not take advantage of the vulnerable situations of others to do evil or cheat. Do not add to the pain of others if you cannot help them. There have been lockdown measures around the world to prevent the loss of life. This is a way to contribute your help to save the lives of others in times like this. You have unseen treasures around you which if you locate can change your circumstance. You can use your time, potentials, and the opportunities around you to make a difference.
6. It is a Season
The crisis comes and crisis goes, the crisis is not permanent. In 2003 Taiwan suffered from a crisis called SARS, again in 2020 another crisis came called Coronavirus but they were better prepared for it in this season and they were able to minimise the loss. Winter and summer season come every year but the impact felt depends on the level of preparation for the season.
You cannot stop the seasons but you can prepare for it. It is a matter of time and we can determine that time based on how we respond to the challenges of the times. If the eagle can survive such sudden change, it implies that we can make the most of the situation for the benefit of the current and future generations. The greatest gift to humanity will be to discover a solution that will serve as a cure for now and the future without any further loss. This could be a season of loss but that loss can be prevented in the next season of crisis and that will become a great joy and comfort.
7. Your pain can become gain
Your story of pain and loss can help others. You may have suffered loss and pain and your experience has a value that could help others in similar situations or circumstances. Do not waste that pain, it is valuable to the world. Your loss is painful but you can decide to use it for good as it can become gain to someone else in that same situation now and in the future. How your family survived in crisis could help many others, how you coped with the loss of a loved one, how you prevented the loss of a loved one, the solutions you found, the help you received, the resources that helped you among others are valuable resources that could become the gain of others and you would be comforted in the fact that your pain is helping others by preventing further losses. We can use our pain to prepare a gift for the future that will prevent others from suffering the pain or causing the same occurrence or similar to have the same devastating effect on others.
Please feel free to share this post if you found it useful, and remember to get in touch as I would appreciate your comments and would like to hear from you.
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