Infected with Apathy and Symptoms of Empathy.

This is no news that these are tough times. People are genuinely experiencing the truth that the safest place in this world is your home, your very own house. As someone who is introspective, it actually feels good to see that people are making good use of this time to discover and rediscover themselves. I however have come across something that's equal parts enlightening intriguing.

The part that's enlightening is that we humans are capable of empathy. The reason for it to seem enlightening is because we may have advanced technologically, but environmentally we seem to have decelerated. The civilized world today is nothing but "Law of the Jungle" but with suits. People now are complaining that they are vulnerable to life-threatening infections but who is to tell these people that they were already infected by the soul-threatening virus of "Apathy". 

Now for the current pandemic there are factors to be blamed for, but for the pandemic that has been plaguing humanity for generations, whom to blame for that. We as humans have it in our tendency to satisfy needs and complete goals, to make our lives worth living but what kind of life it would be if we are busy finding worth and not adding value to it, certainly not a human life. We are no less than animals if we keep living like this. The reason we are different from animals is that we can empathize, we have the ability to develop and exhibit feelings of compassion, but in the race to satisfy, gratify, achieve, hoard and goad, we forget it all and are at each others throats. 

Perhaps in this period of pandemic we are being reminded that we are humans. Positively there will be antidote for this pandemic causing virus soon, but for the virus of Apathy there is an antidote, something we humans are already born with. You may have understood by now, I'm talking about "Empathy". 

In the beginning I expressed relief in seeing people discover and rediscover themselves, it does seem many of them have discovered/rediscovered the empathy which may have been comatose for a long time. There are tourists, the ones who were being considered the cause of this pandemic, they faced a lot of disdain and rebuffing but in hour of need they were helped by people who weren't of their nation.

This pandemic helped us realize that no matter where we are in this social structure, even if one of the level falls the entire pyramid will crumble. Seeing the daily laborers struggle for their daily wages and observing their pain, many are now using the platform of social media to arrange some sort of relief for them. 

It's not only about empathy for our co-humans, it's about the empathy for our surroundings equally. Seeing the nature back in its simple, pure and pristine form instilled a feeling of wonder and awe and maybe a small amount of guilt, if we recall how for our selfish means we had mean ravishing and ravaging this very nature and leaving it all fragile. 

Yes, this pandemic is a reminder that we humans still have hope to care to love and to be there for each other thus adding value to our lives and yes "this too shall pass", my question however lies in the aftermath of the same. Once this is over, what next?, is this a small flame that will blow out in the pending resumption of the rat-race to add worth to our lives will it be given air to expand burn amongst us, encouraging it to act as lamps illuminating each other, and show each other the light, helping each other become our respective best versions. 

Thus, to conclude, for long have we been infected with apathy, now is the time to neutralize it with empathy, and given we are showing symptoms of the same, it's time to spread these symptoms to others, because showing symptoms won't be enough, it's time to work on these symptoms, make sure it spreads amongst all of us, so that when we survive this on-going pandemic, we can use them to make this world a better place for our succeeding generations, to give back something to this nature towards which we have been so vehement.

Stay safe, find the worth within you to make your life valuable, for every life human/non-human is precious. If not understood now, not sure about the world but you're already doomed..but I'll stay hopeful and positive. 

Too late to Touch ?!!

We are in the times of a pandemic, it's true, it may seem funny and to some inappropriate but what annoys me the most is that the effects of it are such that we are prevented from even "touching ourselves". It's frustrating.

However, the above mentioned preventive measure is only for the physical, and given the occupational hazard of an introspective blogger, I can't help but delve deep in making analogies between the tangible and intangible, the sense and the spirit and with my introspective understanding I've come to a conclusion that we've long adopted this preventive measure as a lifestyle, haven't we?

Just think about it, we are so consumed by the toxicities of the external world that we haven't established an inner connection or as in this context i'd say "touch ourselves". We haven't really known ourselves, we never empathized ourselves, we never accepted our demons and suppressed things inside us which may seem unacceptable to the norms of the society fearing prejudice and harboring hypocrisy. And now, this pandemic just restricts us from touching ourselves in the physical sense, no matter how much we yearn to, no matter how much we have to. It seems unfair, but somewhere it's a reminder of sorts, a wake-up call to remind us that instead of falling for the traps of the toxic, establish a connect with yourself, it's the most effective vaccine against the toxicities that come from the external.

As far as touching others is concerned, pandemics and epidemics are known to have spread by touching others, but it hasn't really stopped people has it? can the same be said about touching others in the perspective of establishing a connection with others? I guess with not that much conviction. Why such apprehension because there is a fear of the individual being at the other end being toxic or being infected by some toxicity which may affect us. It's a plausible assumption and it's a smart call to prioritize safety, but isn't it an invitation to isolation and paranoia? how does one feel safe enough to live fearlessly?

As far as this pandemic is concerned, one has to be patient and optimistic with the belief that "this too shall pass", however it does raise an important question, is it too late to touch ourselves and others? We have been told to maintain social distance from people around us, but ask yourselves, haven't we doing this for a very long time? we communicate, but we don't connect hence we don't "touch". In the above two cases the world, or in this case the social world seems to lack a vaccine that is simple yet the most effective, the vaccine called "EMPATHY". Hence the existing conventional touches are all cold lacking the warmth of this empathy. 

Maybe it's time we begin touching ourselves to feel our existence and maybe realize the purpose of the same. Maybe it's time that  we with faith and hope begin touching others. To prevent the pandemic we aren't touching our face, nor are we getting into any sort of physical contact with others and are maintaining social distance, but if we maintain our empathy in this period of paranoid pandemic and help each other around, we will manage to "touch" a lot of people.

To conclude, once this pandemic ends, and it will, maybe we should resolve to touch, be it ourselves, be it others, so that the ever existing pandemics that intend to infect and rot our spirit and sanity, can be fought and won over. If we can win over these pandemics, the existing one won't last long. 

Stay safe...