For most of humanity, 2020 would rank as the worst year in the last couple of generations. The Covid pandemic has caused misery to millions of people across the world. Many people have lost lives, and many more have lost livelihoods due to the harsh measures taken to fight the pandemic. Life has also been very different for office goers, college students and school kids. With the approval of the 3 vaccines, it is expected that the world would finally be able to see the back of the pandemic by June 2021.
As I look back on 2020, the first thing that comes to my mind is gratitude – to the front-line health workers who fought bravely against the pandemic; the people who worked on delivering groceries and food to our doorsteps when we couldn’t step out & the public/government officials who responded to the pandemic.
I am also deeply grateful to various scientists, public health officials, pharma companies & philanthropists like Bill Gates who ensured we got vaccines in record time – this clearly shows that when the world gets together, seemingly impossible things can get done.
Many of us were lucky & privileged to work in jobs which could get done from home and work in industries where were less impacted by the pandemic – some businesses like the tech sector actually boomed during this time period. But so many others have been deeply impacted – their jobs were lost & companies were shut down. It will be a few more months of deep economic pain, before we see the turnaround, which I am pretty confident will happen once the vaccines are rolled out.
I was forced like many others to live a very different lifestyle – but some good things have emerged – spending more time with immediate family; connecting with more friends on Zoom, more reading & meditation(the not so good was the amount of time on TV).
The last 9 months have shown me that life is precious & momentary & it is important to appreciate every moment in ones life. As we step into a more hopeful 2021, here’s wishing everyone a happy new year.
gopaldevanahalli 