COVID-19 PANDEMIC: 5 Positive Things We Should Appreciate Instead Of Being Afraid

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This coronavirus outbreak is not the end of the world.

Vernon B. Sarne wrote on Visor.ph about his point of views during the COVID-19 pandemic. He compared today's disease to 1979 Skylab fall and 2000 Y2K glitch when both scared the USA and the world.

"I’m 48 years old. Apparently still young enough to safely withstand the ill effects of the COVID-19 disease should I catch the dreaded coronavirus, but certainly mature enough to know that this, too, shall pass." said Vernon B. Sarne on Visor.ph

PANIC BUYING

Sarne also noticed the response of the many after announcement of lockdown, "We need to take COVID-19 and the newly implemented community quarantine VERY SERIOUSLY. But not to the point where we panic and buy all the toilet paper we can find in the supermarket—what the hell is this all about?—and scare each other with doomsday prophecies."

READ: DOTr Guidelines on Social Distancing and Community Quarantine

Below are 5 reasons why we should not panic with COVID-19 as explained by Sarne:

1. We have a chance to slow down.

Take a stock of your life right now. What do you see? Me? I see a person who has been running around in circles for decades, constantly chasing deadlines and quotas that never seem to end. So much so that I’ve never bothered to take a vacation leave to spend time with family. Drop everything. The world won’t stop spinning if you take it easy. Disconnect, recharge, find yourself. Your body and soul desperately need this.

2. We now realize we have fucked-up priorities.

One silver lining to the coronavirus scare is the epiphany that you’re wasting your life—your time, your money and your energy—on inconsequential things. Many of us have devoted our precious years to getting that promotion or saving up for a fancy sports car or pissing away our salary at expensive watering holes. And then you get a wake-up call: All this superficial stuff means NOTHING in the face of death. Recalibrate your goals. You have 30 days to do so.

3. We can spend time with people we love.

When you’re in a rat race, just finding a week to be with your family is like getting your car brand to honor your warranty after the shitty transmission in your vehicle stops working. Which is to say next to impossible. Don’t resist the monthlong quarantine. Quit grumbling. Stay home. This is good for you and the relationships you’ve taken for granted for so long. Put down this smartphone and talk to them. Laugh with them. Binge on junk food with them. You’ll be a happier person after this.

4. We can finally work on a passion project.

Do you have a hobby in mind that you’ve been wanting to start? Maybe a do-it-yourself cabinet? Or a vlog? A sculpture? Or maybe even a small business on the side? Well, here you go. Knock yourself out. You have all the time in this virus-infected world.

5. We have the perfect opportunity to pray and worship again.

Skip this part if you’re an atheist. I’m talking to those who believe in the Almighty and have somehow drifted far away from Him. That includes me, actually. Now is the time to admit we need to go back and fix our spiritual walk. This is more urgent than physical healing.

"We’ll all remember this episode like I now reminisce about Skylab and Y2K," he said.

"As I write this, I try to dig deep and recall instances in my unremarkable life in which I was truly scared because I genuinely believed the sky was falling and the world as I knew it was coming to an end. I can think of two such occasions," he explained.

Let’s stop scaring ourselves and see the good in all of this!

This article is written up in support to spread awareness for COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.

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