There are very few things which almost all of us have in common. One is the desire to be happy. Another is the instinct to survive. There is now something else that we all share and that is changed lives. The global pandemic has resulted in all of us having to live in a different way from how we lived before.
We can despair and bemoan these changes or we can heed the words of Socrates, who said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
In order to build the new we need to see this as a time of opportunity. It’s an opportunity to slow down and re-assess the path we’re on and where it’s leading. Perhaps we’ll decide to change direction. It’s an opportunity to put the brakes on our materialistic attitude and think about what is really important. Perhaps we’ll decide that things that money cannot buy are of greater value, things such as friendship. It’s an opportunity to look at what we regard as priorities. Perhaps we’ll decide that communing with nature is at the top of our list rather than the bottom.
Our world has changed. What was “normal” before is no longer normal, but if we take this time of change to pause and then to focus our attention on making better choices, we can make an impact on what our new world will be like. Individual decisions and actions have a cumulative effect. If each one of us puts in the effort to make positive changes, then the potential for the building of a better world will be huge.
