Who says coronavirus is all about gloom and doom? Life amid the pandemic has had its share of triumphs too, not just trials and tribulations. As we settle into a new normal, there’s no denying that the three-plus months of staying indoors also pushed our thoughts inwards — giving us a rare chance to learn and unlearn many lessons.

The lockdown, if you can call it that, shook the very foundation of our values and belief systems, yielding many Eureka moments and enabling us to realign or kick some stubborn habits, while developing new ones.

Gulf News staffer share their biggest takeaways:
As life lessons go, COVID-19 is perhaps the mother of all courses. An invisible teacher, coronavirus has some glaring truths to share. The entire world, for the first time ever, is on the same page, facing the same questions and looking for the same answers.

For far too long, we skimmed over words like global warming and climate change — the litany of jargon was simply lost on us. Even when we first read about coronavirus striking Wuhan in China, it didn’t bother us.

After all, how could something happening at a nondescript market in a faraway Tier-2 city possibly matter to us? But today, as the deadly virus transcends all borders and holds the world to ransom, we suddenly find ourselves jolted out of our apathy.

At a personal level, coronavirus has forced me to cut out the cynicism. I realise that as an individual, I cannot afford to be far-removed from the inextricably interconnected world that I am in. I know now that my every action, however small, will matter as much to me as it will to anyone, anywhere — and vice-versa.

In other words, there is no room to play solo or take cover in what is clearly a systemic dynamic. The circuit breaker has taught me to come to terms with this collective truth. And no, I will no longer rubbish this as rhetoric anymore.

Credits: Gulf News