From March until August 2020 I, along with many other South Africans, have been forced to stay at home due to the lockdown against the COVID19 pandemic. While some of us had by now returned to work many still stay at or work from home. When watching the news, it is clear though that not all people adhere to the lockdown rules, in fact there are some who still do not believe there is a pandemic at all.
I have
returned to work on the 31st of August, as it is not exactly
possible to, as a library assistant, work from home. However, the time I was forced
to stay at home were pleasant – most of all I had the opportunity to witness
the first six months of my newborn baby’s life (a privilege many fathers do not
have). I also had a lot of time, and truly little excuse, to focus on intense
study, meditation and fasting. I know that the experience, for many heartbreaking
reasons, was or are not as pleasant for many others.
As I
contemplated these times we live in, I realize that there is another part of the
pandemic many of us do not see or prefer to ignore. The virus itself, whether
we are responsible for its genesis or not, is plainly what it is – it infects
people and while some survive many dies. As human beings we do not have the
same excuse, to say we do what we do because we are what we are implies that we
do not have the capacity to think or the conscience to realize the consequences
of our actions. The ‘I am only human’ excuse simply does not work.
And yet
this is exactly how many of us conduct our lives – living (existing?) from day
to day without questioning deeply our own motives and actions. My mother, a
very wise woman, told me sadly that, “there are many things with which we live
past each other, things we do not even think to find out… we just live… everyone
in his or her own bubble”. She said this with regard to knowledge of certain
subjects, but I think she will agree with me that it is equally true of
thousands of small daily things over which we never stop to think why it is
that we do it.
This is
what makes us, the human species, the actual virus – a virus which can think
but either prefer not to or prefer using the capability to consciously act in
ways which will cause trouble to all of us on a later stage. Never mind the big
things though, the fact that we are the cause of erosion, global warming,
famine and other cruelties to mention only a few. Individually we make millions
of choices daily which we unconsciously teach our children, and which adds up
to become major problems in the long run.
A few years
ago, I was using the train to go and visit my parents. While waiting for the
arrival of the train I walked around on station observing people, an
interesting pastime. So, at one stage I saw a mother and her small child, I would
guess the boy were about three or four years of age, leaning against a half-empty
dustbin eating some snacks. After eating they walked about three meters to the
railroad track and threw the plastic containers on the track, then walked back
to the half-empty dustbin and continue leaning on it. I was dumbfounded.
We humans seems,
in essence, to be extremely selfish and self-absorbed. Someone once said that
crowds are stupid, but personally I do not think that we fare much better
individually – it is just easier to see the stupidity of the crowds. Some argue
that they cannot do something to, for instance, stop pollution. However,
looking at the actions of these very same people, they pollute with the same
argument in mind – how can my own personal polluting cause massive pollution, I
am only one person. In other words, we do not stand up to do something about the
problems facing the world because we feel inferior while at the same time, in our
personal lives, we act so superior that we are the very cause of those
problems.
We refuse
to see it because we are comfortable. There is a South African joke on
politicians in government – a decision are made by some politician which is
then contested in court, the court orders the politician to rectify the problem
within, say, five years’ time… the politician then calculate that by that time
he will not be in the position to correct it anymore and thus he agree to what
the court says without any intention of actually obeying making it, in effect,
someone else’s problem. It is not only politicians that act this way. Many of
us do know what the effects will be if we continue wasting water and
electricity – we complain about load shedding but make no effort to switch of the
light when we exit the room – or continue polluting, but we also know that by
the time those problems hit home we may not be around anymore (you do realize
that load shedding is one example of such a problem? – for all the mistakes
Eskom made and continue to make, we each have our own part in this). Even
closer to our bodies, we know what the consequences will be for our bad eating habits
and lack of exercise but we reckon that by the time it becomes a problem we
would have lived our lives satisfactorily. Then we still act surprised when we
are diagnosed with various types of sicknesses.
On the
other hand, many of us fool ourselves into thinking that it is enough to give
some money to some far off charity organization while we continue to do some of
the very things those organizations are trying to stop. Giving the money is not
the problem, fooling ourselves into thinking that that is the only thing we
need to do is. Then there are also some of us who do give some money to some
organization, even if it is through a backdoor way via playing lottery or
buying at our favorite supermarket, only because we get something in return –
points, the chance to win a competition, or discount on our shopping. It is as
if we must be begged to do the right thing. And thank God we do not have to get
our hands dirty. Then, on another front, there are those who raise awareness
for some or other noble cause. Raising the awareness is not a problem, it is an
exceptionally good thing as it would hopefully force some people to think. The
problem come in when those who join the campaigns do so only to wear certain
clothing, buying a pin or putting cloth around a tree. Again, people must be
begged only to become nominally involved.
What is
needed is some real action. Why not start a campaign yourself, for a chance,
within your own area? Sure, that might be aiming a bit high for a start, but
still there are many things many of us can do, on our own or with someone else,
which will be small steps in the right direction. For starters, and as far as
is financially possible, find out where better choices can be made within your
own life and home. Safe water by showering for a maximum of two minutes, not
only because this will also safe you some money but because it will do wonders
to the environment which you may never even realize. Don’t know where to start?
As a library assistant I can assure you there are many books in the library and
websites on the internet which will give you easy tips. Besides this, there are
also many events, such as Earth Hour where all electrical appliances are
switched of for an hour, which are designed to help you getting into the habit
of a more sustainable lifestyle.
My point
with all this is that we made ourselves the biggest virus the world has ever
seen simply through our fear and ignorance. My own journey into realization of
my place and purpose on earth and in this life started when I began to
seriously contemplate what it is to love, to have compassion, to live in
harmony. Reading the Holy Scriptures of various religious traditions and the
books written about it, helped me conclude that concepts such as love,
compassion and harmony does not stop at ourselves, our family and our friends. It
continues towards those we do not like, those we hate, complete strangers… and
then further to all other beings no matter how small or big or irritating. It
reaches into every single action we perform, every single choice we make or word
we say. Contemplate this long enough and you will know that it was never going
to be easy. But the alternative of living in a vacuum is so much worse.
May the One
God with many Names and many Manifestations, bless you.
