” The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new.” – Socrates
The year 2020, has been the one wherein the very ethics of humanity has been challenged. As humans, we have given more importance to our greed, than our needs, and therefore we have widened the gulf between what we possess and what we don’t, in a rather catastrophic way. Initially, we could not face the fact that how a novel virus has brought out the inequalities that exist in our society, but the COVID – 19 crisis has held a mirror and shown to the entire world, that how far humans are from the ideals of humanity we have been preaching all along.
Self – isolation has made most of us grateful to a lot of things we have in our lives. The challenges faced during lock-down like the restriction on movement, maintenance of a sanitized and hygienic environment, suspension of public transport, cancellations of public gatherings and the list is endless. The worst-hit section of the society has been the underprivileged, disabled, and medically vulnerable people. The onus lies not only on the government but the entire society to help restore a balance, and not let such inequalities of society crush the very ethics of humanity. The most important lesson learned from the pandemic crisis is, that life before the lock-down was not the normal one. The constant need to compete and not slowdown had made robots out of humans. The way in which we have distanced ourselves from our roots and the disconnect from nature, has put us in a spot where we need to stop, breathe, slow down, re-connect and introspect ourselves, that all that we did erstwhile was our need or greed?
As we switch from a phase of looming fear to the phase of embracing the pandemic and making an eventual restart with the hope of recovering from the losses we have faced, the most important thing is FINANCIAL WISDOM. While there are some who are fortunate enough to have recovered from personal losses, there are still some of us who are trying to sail through the crisis. These financial risks have given a new dimension to the concept of saving and spending wisely. Millions of livelihood have been wiped out and there are some who are now hesitant to walk on the path of altruism. Across the world, segments of income groups have evaporated. Economic activity is also the need of the hour to keep going, even for the Finacial institutions to maintain their liquidity reserves. The concept of spending has changed drastically, people have moved on to more sustainable ways of living and making a source of income out of it.
Saving and investing in this phase of recovery post-Covid has paved a way to the funeral of grandeur and acts of overspending. Simplistic and sustainable living shall become a better trend in the coming ages. The times have been very uncertain and financial struggles have not ended. The financial panic amongst us is a direct outcome of the way we have established the aesthetics and standards of quality life. In such a scenario, educating ourselves for mindful investments, management of personal finances, demarcating between spending and splurging is of utmost importance.
The assertion now lies on the real challenge, which is building a life that included lessons learned from the pandemic crisis, paying attention to the vulnerable that will become a hallmark and symbol of a sensitive society. The life in this recovery phase of the COVID pandemic has to be completely based on a very analytical approach and considerations, because as humans we cannot continue to live like islands, and have to create a society with responsible and sensitive attitudes. It’s in our hands to take the lessons learned from this pandemic to make sound financial decisions for the future that awaits us.
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