I never thought I’d witness an actual pandemic in my lifetime. I mean, the last one was the Spanish flu in 1918!

Although life is currently not normal and after coronavirus has passed, we may find that life never fully returns to “normal”, it has slowed me down; in a good way. It made me embrace the comfort of my home, and realize that connecting with family and friends is very important not only for my sanity but also for the satisfaction and joy that sharing and caring bring.

Looking back at 2020, I feel lucky, although the inability for me as a Mediterranean to gather with other people, to hug, kiss, and eat together is obviously difficult. The toll corona took on people around the world is completely disproportional. Those who are poor got poorer. Those who are rich got richer. Those who were lonely feel even more lonely. That man who beat his wife (there’s a special place in hell for those) has been abusive more than ever. Only dogs seem happier to see their owners at home pretty much 24/7.

What is also interesting is all the conspiracy theories in the time of corona. It. Is. Madness. Some believe that Bill Gates is responsible for COVID-19, or that the vaccine will contain a tracking microchip that will be injected in you (or both); or that governments are imposing lockdowns to control the people (definitely true in some parts of the world, like my home region the Middle East, always a winner when it comes to repression, but not here in Europe) or simply that the virus does not exist – it’s in your mind – as some yoga / life coach posted on Facebook. How is that more logical than just believing that corona exists and due to stupid human behavior, it started somewhere in China (could be Wuhan market or elsewhere, who knows) and then spread to the rest of the world?! In some countries, including the Netherlands, a group of people demonstrated against their “oppressive” government. Seriously? Have you been to Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Russia?

I honestly hope that this collective experience will change our relationship with nature – that we think about how we deal with wildlife and their habitats. I also hope that we focus more on what matters: family, friends, the community we live in – human connection (not only virtual) in general. 

What I hope sticks around after the pandemic is tolerance, support and empathy for one another as well as working from home (at least sometimes) and hand sanitizers (touching that restaurant bathroom door handle then eating your burger with your bare hands is disgusting).

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