This post was first published on March 31, 2020 on my blog for The White Dog Collective - a Digital Marketing team I used to head. You can view the original article here.
===
Yes, I totally ripped off the title from the movie Seeking a Friend for the End of the World starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley but given this situation we've found ourselves in, I’m going to roll with it.
That’s a wonderful movie by the way. If you have not watched it yet, take a couple of hours and check it out.
That being said, I know you may have been expecting something related to our efforts here at The White Dog Collective to spread the wonders and advantages of working from home and quite possibly being part of our team. I already have something in mind to write about regarding home-based work this week but I want to take this time to take a break from all of that.
I want to set aside at least this one time to voice some of the things we as a people have probably been feeling the past few days.
We really do live in interesting times. It’s only March and we’ve already lived through 2 forest fires (one in the Amazon and one in Australia), various natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, viral outbreaks, and now, Novel Coronavirus – 2019. 2020 has been a terrifying roller coaster ride.
It seems that these days, things are just out to get us. Is it Mother Nature lashing out at us – maybe? Is it our fault – most likely? Can we pull out of this? We should be able to as long as we work together.
There are a few lessons we’ve learned so far:
We are not ready for this.
Read that last line and tell me it isn’t true. You can’t right?
We were all woefully not ready for the impact this has on us as individuals and as a civilization. No matter which way you look at it, from our economies to our health care systems, we are unprepared to deal with the fall out COVID-19 has had on our lives and people have perished in one way or another because of this.
The story should not end there though. There is always room for improvement and we should all take this time to look back on the things that did not account for something like this.
It is in the worst of times that we learn who people really are
This is true even without a pandemic. I could write about many items that could fall into this category from xenophobia against the Chinese and worse, health care workers. This would also include impractical judgment calls like hoarding more than you can consume.
COVID-19 has no nationality. Sure, unsafe and unhygienic practices may have contributed to its rise but on its own, it holds no affiliation to any nation or country. It may have originated from China but it could have as easily cropped up somewhere else.
The Chinese have suffered as we are suffering now and they have lost people too. Assuming that this is engineered to put their nation at an advantage would be discounting the lives and tragic deaths of loved ones they lost.
In as far as hoarding is concerned; remember that not everyone has the same resources as you. This means that they might not be able to afford to get supplies as everybody else and you acquiring more than you can consume might be taking away from what they can get.
Lastly, it is in these times that we can see how our managers and business owners value their people. There are those who are still required to go to the office even when the quarantine was put in place or those who forewent the work from home option. Even worse are the ones who dilly-dally in making decisions hoping to form any advantage they can get.
If you’re a decision-maker, shouldn’t human lives be more of a priority than overhead costs?
Reach out to others
We have never been in a situation where being totally disconnected is almost impossible. Sure, there are still many of us who do not yet have 24-7 access to the internet but to those who do, take the time to reach out to your friends and loved ones.
Reconnect. Let them know that you value them and that they should stay safe.
COVID – 19 has a higher mortality rate with the elderly and those whose health are already compromised. We also have people who live alone. Message them. If you have people who fall into this category, ask them if they need anything.
Make sure to get in some Me-time
Curb the anxiety this time brings by clocking in some much-needed self-pampering. You might not be able to step outside but you do get to do other things that do not require you to do so.
Most of us who are going to be working from home will most likely have a lot of time on their hands. Make the most out of that time to finish that book or game. Get started with that TV show or start setting up that garden – whatever floats your boat.
The Hustle does not end
There are, of course, those like us here at The White Dog Collective who do have full time work from home jobs. Apart from being stuck at home, we also get to work. Yay! It’s pretty normal for us to isolate ourselves from others. The hustle, which is the act of working to make money, does not stop when the world is on a time out.
Let’s face it: we do not yet live in an ideal world where the money is not a requirement. Try to find new ways of having an income from home. Start looking for jobs you can do online from the safety of your house. Us having access to the internet has changed the playing field.
Imagine if this pandemic happened in the 90s.
We need to appreciate nature and people more
In addition to this make sure to thank people more – the lady bagging your groceries, the guy helping you at the gas station. Most importantly, thank those working in the health care industry.
We all thank soldiers for their service, this time thank your nurses, your doctors, your lab technicians. This is an ongoing war and they are the front lines. Treat them with respect cause while we are stuck at home, they get to leave their families for days on end and are risking their own lives to save us.
Look at what we’ve done
Take the time to appreciate nature. You’ve probably seen reports about the improvement in the quality of waters and air all over the world.
While humanity is on a collective time out nature has taken this time to heal itself. Take Venice for example. Without human activity, the waters have become so clear that fish have moved back in. Air and noise pollution is down a significant amount as well even in China.
I think this says a lot about our footprint on this planet and something has to change.
This is not the end of us
My friend and I were speaking the other day and he said: What if this really is the end? In the past few weeks, have you ever asked yourself that question?
Sure we were caught unprepared with our facilities and resources totally unequipped to handle this type of concern but this is not what ends us. The cure might be more than a year in coming and the quarantines we are in might be extended but we’ll get over this.
I think we’ve all learned our lessons.
We live in crazy-interesting times indeed. Before we move forward, let me just tell you one thing:
You are not alone.
We are all in the same boat. Me writing this and all the people reading it, even the ones that don’t get the chance to – we’re in this together. We all live under the same sky and breathe the same air. We feel the same uncertainties and we are all hoping to go back to the comfort zone we were in before all this went down.
You are not alone.
Who knows? Maybe this situation would serve as a wake-up call for humanity that the way of living we had in the past isn’t working and it is time for us to find a new normal amidst all of this chaos. My team and I are lucky that we did not have to adjust too much when COVID – 19 crashed into our collective existence. We’ve been working from home long before that and we’re only feeling the difference of the quarantines that have been implemented in our respective locations cause we hardly ever have to go outside in the first place.
At the end of this all, I only hope and I think most of us feel the same: that we come out of this as better people: ones who give more value on human interaction, who follow rules and those that respect nature. Let’s try to live more sustainably after this. At the very least let cut back on our use of plastics and let’s plant more trees and plants.
Let’s try to lessen our commutes. Work from home more. Reach out to people more either to help them or to simply catch up.
This is not the end of us and we here at The White Dog Collective believe that 100%. Cheers to better days ahead.
Stay home, stay safe.
Comments