I had recently come across an insight online that closely applied to our present condition in this time of COVID-19: “We may all be in the same storm, but we are not in the boat.” Truly, the ways how each of us these days are trying to cope with and react to the threat of the viral pandemic and the many challenges that it pose, says it all.
When all this is over, only one thing will be certain. Either as families, groups or individuals, we will all emerge from this experience as changed forever. Moreover, the choices that we have made during this storm will likewise define how we will view each other from then on. Even though everyone will emerge with different outlooks and experiences (as this comes naturally), the more important insight will be how we will deal with others who had not shared the same boat with us. Furthermore, this will play largely on how we forge ahead. It might as well be the a vital part of the new normal.
It is true that many things about people are unravelled during any shared experience. The hypothetical question, “were we on the same boat?” will occupy the top shelf, as everyone will begin to be naturally gravitated towards those with equally shared struggles. Birds of the same feather, remember?
Already, while most had agreed to stay safe indoors and whiled away the disturbance, there had been others who took it and the quarantine that followed, as direct affronts to their free will, or their most urgent needs. We need to accept this, even grudgingly.
For many, the loss of income and the possibility of hunger by their family will be significant factors during the quarantine. These in all just prove that there is no right or wrong in this grand test that we all face.
Again picture countless boats in an ocean of storm. The COVID-19 tempest will not discriminate and pick out which boat is most worthy. After all, its ability to level the field and say that, we are at last all equal, regardless of wealth, color or creed, will be the only thing consistent in the analogy, as all boats are at the storm’s mercy.
