Because of COVID-19, We Learned to Value Things We Often Ignored Before

We’re all stagnant waters now and there’s nothing we can do to help ourselves. We’re all stuck inside our houses, covered with anxiety and fear. The world has literally stopped for a while. And there’s no one who can tell the exact time when this crisis will end. It’s the first time in this generation that everyone is forced to stay at home for a month or so. The busy cities worldwide fanned down with no noise and no commotions. The global economy shrunk into the deep ocean floor. And going outside to breathe some fresh air or run our typical errands became a ground for immediate arrest. Who would’ve thought that our 2020 will topple over just because of a microscopic entity that is not even alive?

All of a sudden, the luxurious things that people often exalted before ran out of value. Those thousand-dollar tees and shoes that can already feed a Filipino family in a month have instantly slipped away from people’s top priority. There’s no point of using them now because we’re all locked up in our own houses. We can’t flaunt them in extravagant parties and events because mass gatherings are not permitted. For now, they’re just stored in our closet while waiting for the very day that everything will normalize again. So keep praying that these expensive garments still fit your sizes when the times comes you’re going to wear them again. 

There is one YouTube content creator I’m following who made me realize these things. That in life, especially in a crisis like a pandemic, we really don’t need to have expensive things like these. Time really comes that these will lose its significance in our lives, regardless of its price. So I realized that there’s no need to squeeze our limited budget to shell out thousands of money for the things that will not really last in our lifetime. 

And now it’s clear that the things we often ignored before— primarily our health, family, and ourselves— are the things that matter the most today.

What Matters Now?

As the COVID- 19 cases and fatalities continue to hit the ceiling every day, waking up with no symptoms of that deadly disease is really a great blessing to be thankful for. Even if you can’t afford a luxurious quarantine lifestyle, — no daily dalgona coffee, no fried spam, no fast food deliveries, no online shopping parcels, no treadmill, no ice cream— living healthy and safe inside your home with malunggay soup, smoked fish, and sardines is still a miracle. That’s what important now. To stay healthy and sane during this frightening season of a pandemic. 

When the world is still in harmony, we were all busy with our own businesses. Some of us go to school and some to work. The four weeks of a month were occupied, blocking your schedule for some quality family time. Unintentionally discarding some good dinner talks with them, which they deserve from you as your parents. So now that you have no choice but to stay home, mind to give some good time for your family. Talk to them about your worries and happiness. Eat your dinner with them every day. Do the things you failed to do before. Fill your home with love and joy to alleviate stress from the ongoing nightmare outside your home. 

You’ve been working all your life, exhausting your strength and depriving so much of yourself. Now on the brighter side of this pandemic, God made a way to give you some rest and break. Use this wisely. Turn to your forgotten hobbies. Do the things that are making you happy. Breathe in and breathe out. Give some time for yourself. You deserve it.

Salient Point

COVID- 19 is teaching us one important lesson we often overlook: There’s no permanent in the world, but change and “challenges.” And the keys to surviving these aren’t the expensive things we have, but the virtual things we often take for granted. So when the world returns to normal again, have a much better perspective. Our life, for sure, will not be the same even after this crisis.

Photo Credit: Max Bender