An Abundance of Silver Lining during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Billions of years have passed to get us to where we are today. From the earliest era of unicellular organisms to a more complex multi-cellular ones, we have experienced a lot as the years, months, weeks, and days progressed. Change is inevitable and we came to live by that thought. But it is not the only thing that is expected. Calamities play a huge role in this economic development. Whether it is a natural one or man-made, it has been around since the dawn of time. For instance, it was a meteor, a natural calamity, that wiped out the dinosaurs; completely ending their period. And it hasn’t stopped since. However, aside from the grief of the losses, each disaster reveals new knowledge. Each ruin brings forth a tinge of hope that it happened for a reason, and not just for destruction.

            The greatest calamity we are facing at this time is the Coronavirus disease or commonly known as (COVID-19). With over thousands of deaths and a lot of people infected with the virus, wheezing in hospitals as they fight for their lives. Medical workers working hours and hours of shifts and risking their lives by tending to the victims of this horrible disease. And most importantly, in the Philippines alone, thousands of families are living in abject poverty with nowhere to find income therefore struggling to buy the basic necessities because of the ECQ or Enhanced Community Quarantine that is being implemented in hopes to diminish the still increasing confirmed cases of the virus. These being just a few of the havocs that the contagion has caused.

            We are in the midst of an appalling pandemic. Many lives were lost, and many still affected. However, its cons do not outweigh its pros. There are momentous positive occurrences whilst it is happening. For instance, the most noticeable one would be the significant decrease in pollution. As an indirect result of COVID-19 safety measures, unprecedentedly large-scale quarantines, a reduction in industrial production and dramatically decreased amounts of motor vehicle traffic — all of these factors are contributing to better air and water quality. According to Oliver Isaacs from Entrepreneur, “In Bergamo, Italy, for instance, the average concentration of NO2 during one week in March was 47 percent lower than for the same week in 2019. Europe is not the only area to benefit from cleaner air — the same phenomenon has been observed in China and the U.S., among other countries.” These, and other articles relating to this, opened our minds to what can be, allowed us to digest knowledge of what we can do, and shows us what we can accomplish if a sensible, sustained, large-scale effort was executed to protect the environment. Another example of silver lining in these times of trouble would be the exposure of flaws in economic and healthcare systems. It has enlightened us that although we are prolific in technological advancements, we are woefully unprepared to handle a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Isaacs states that, “The coronavirus emergency has tested all aspects of public services, from police force and healthcare to educational institutions and economic readiness, in a way that no simulation or theoretical model could have done.” Since the flaws have been identified, this will pave the way for authorities on both local and national levels to draw the right conclusions from this crisis and implement appropriate solutions and changes to make sure everything runs efficiently in the future. Aside from the system and the environment, the implementation of social distancing gave us the chance to ponder and take a break from all the stressors of our daily lives. Rice-Oxley quoted Brooke Fandrich from Wisconsin’s statement about finally being able to catch up with our own thoughts, “Over this lengthy period of social distancing, I’ve felt like the ‘mute button’ has been pressed on my life. The typical noise of my days has been silenced, and that’s made a huge impact since we’ve finally been given some time to be alone with our own thoughts. It seems like people are using their isolation as an opportunity for self-reflection and healing. During social distancing, I’ve realized that myself and many others were experiencing chronic stress in our old daily life. We were finally able to work up the courage and get professional psychiatric help… All these changes have exposed serious faults in the way our society was being run, and I think that goes down to the most basic individual level. It would be amazing if this crisis has encouraged people to reach out for the help that they’ve needed for so long.”

            Hurt and sadness will forever be present in our daily lives. Nevertheless, one must not forget to see the abundance of silver lining in situations where one feels most vulnerable. Every bad thing happens for a reason. It may enlighten, teach, or introduce a whole other thought that one may completely be unaware of. Therefore, optimism is a keen way to go in times of despair.