There is an oft-said consolation after a breakup: “There are plenty more fish in the sea.” As we are bidding farewell and saying “Good riddance!” to the Omicron wave, we must remember that there are plenty more waves in the Covid Sea. Although Omicron was a mild wave compared to its predecessors, there is no guarantee that its successors will be as forgiving, or even of a similar kind. One thing is clear, we are attracting troubles to ourselves. The holes we rip in the fabric of the smooth reality will draw every passing calamity upon us until we are convinced that we must mend the tears and straighten out the dents.
Covid, as with the rest of the crises affecting us, is not a freak accident. It is a direct result of our mistreatment of everything around us. All the crises, including Covid, aim to slow us down and restrain our vandalism toward nature and toward weaker people and nations.
From the very beginning, I was grateful for the coronavirus precisely because it forced us to slow down. I have no doubt that without it we would have been much worse off today than we are now. The Omicron wave was the mildest yet, but we still have not learned the lesson; we are still waiting for the moment when we can return to our reckless way of life. If we do not learn to be considerate, nature will impose its shackles on us through pain.
At the same time, if we do learn to be considerate and see that everyone gets their basic needs fulfilled, and we can do that without adding a single cent to our collective spending, we will see an immediate relief from all the crises plaguing us today. We should take the opportunity that nature has given us, the break from the pandemic, and tend to the urgent needs of humanity. We should secure food provision for all, housing, schooling, and health. If we do that and establish a balanced way of life around the world, we will stop suffering from plagues, wars, and other crises.
To achieve balance, we must build trust and understand that we are all dependent on each other. If we realize that all of humanity is on a precipice, and if one of us falls, we all fall, then we will let no one fall.
Just as new strains quickly spread throughout the world, rendering vaccines useless, any problem that anyone has will immediately affect the entire world. If we come to feel this and live with this mindset, we are certain to avoid troubles and the waves of the sea will not crash on our heads.
Mending the tears means mending the rifts between us. If, instead of tearing each other up, we will help each other mend our lives, the fabric of reality will be smooth and straight, and our lives-peaceful at last.
Photo Caption: Test tube labelled “COVID-19 Omicron variant test positive” is seen in this illustration picture taken January 15, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration