Covid College:- Involuntary Essentialism
By: Geeta Divekar
Let’s close our eyes, go back to our adolescence, and define a “Material Moment.” A moment in life where nothing is the same again. For most of us, it would be our college acceptance letters: a moment marked by joy for some, disappointment for others, and large anticipation of the future for all. Now fast forward to 2020, where all of humanity got admitted to COVID College, but not out of our own volition. It did not matter what one’s transcripts, grades, or recommendation letters were. The result was the same. From the Arctic to the Antarctic, from Polynesia to the South Pacific, a big bold sign of “Welcome to Covid College” embraced us all.
The year 2020 marked the beginning of unbelievable uncertainty. One of the perils of a civilized society is the predictability of routine and a false sense of mastery over one’s schedule. Relentlessly and breathlessly going through our to-do lists, most of us were busy living in the shallows. Until we had our first class in Covid College, we did not realize that Burnout is the disease of civilization and millions were suffering from it. We normalized the unconscious way of living where we didn’t value sleep, fresh food, or cultivate habits centered around gratitude. So, in many ways, Covid put us in a “time-out” for bad behavior.
Chanakya, (also know as Kautilya, 300 BC), who was known for his mastery over war strategy, helped create the one of India’s largest kingdoms. He was the first one to discuss “Crisis and Opportunity,” which meant taking the breakdown and turning into a breakthrough. And we all know that a breakthrough happens when there is a change in the critical mass.
Covid has taught involuntary essentialism. What is truly essential for a good life? How do we thrive and deal with the aftermath of the pandemic? We need to be connected to a deeper place in ourselves. A place of wisdom, trust and love. Though we have access to it, we are rarely there. Instead of the constant consumption of news and social media, read good books. Bring back restfulness and ease the pace of life. Let us strengthen our strength. Eat mindfully and sleep peacefully. Bring back philosophy into your daily lives. It is just not about being busy, productive and efficient anymore. Life is like two streams: one takes us to the world where we perform. The other takes us back to ourselves, where we nurture ourselves and put things in perspective of what is really essential to us. Living life joyfully is a mission more than a career. Let us mend the broken way of living. During this time, those who chose essentialism are more at peace than on whom it was thrust.
We are in the time of great reset, truly a Black Swan moment. Restoring the perspective and choosing what really matters and what passes away into oblivion. Time to separate what is necessary from what is not. Has Covid been our apocalypse, a revelation to ourselves? Absolutely! So we graduate from Covid College with the understanding that we have resilience, strength and courage. Let us go to the source of it and connect it to our purpose of living a healthy life with compassion and gratitude. We all will graduate the Covid College with faith, trust and love! To our class…Happy Graduation!
