by Aoife Brady, Sydney, Australia
Covid’s gift
Big houses, new cars, fancy holidays, prestigious jobs. A legacy of success, importance and wealth.
Our world valued the external appearance. Survival of the fittest. Work hard, play hard. Keeping up with the Joneses.
COVID doesn’t care. It targets all. Indiscriminately. Old and young, healthy and sick.
We’ve seen the best of humanity; the kindness, compassion and generosity.
We’ve seen the worst of humanity; aggression, judgement and wilful flaunting of the rules.
Overnight the “insignificant” became the most important. The nurses, the social workers, the cleaners, the delivery drivers, selflessly putting their lives on the line to get us through.
Forced separation. Working & studying from home. The breakdown of our social habits. Our favourite cafe, bar & restaurant closed. The job losses.
Anxiety, fear, panic, concern. We felt them all. We heard our inner dialogue. The isolation forced us to confront our mental wellbeing
Mental health moved from taboo to mainstream. We learned about our inner world and how we respond to the world.
We learned the importance of meaningful connection for our emotional wellbeing. Honestly replaced pretence.
COVID’s gift is a resetting of what’s important. Our health. Our wellbeing. Who we are as people. Who are you in the post COVID world?
