Arguably, the most important talking point in the time of controls, restrictions and adaptations is the question of how we can stay and succeed together while maintaining physical distancing. A ready and easy answer suggests improved and more equitable use of technology.
But at a more searching level, communities have been challenged to work towards deeper and empathetic relationships. It is alright for communication to take place over the phone or through the exchange of messages. For the braver ones and those often forced by circumstances, there is the option of video calls as well. At the end of the day; however, the question that remains is whether one has acted from a place of love or fear.
Reports from the developed world, where such concepts as tele-therapy and tele-doctors in vogue, show that even these pioneering initiatives have deficiencies. They fall short when are it comes to a real understanding of one another; they cannot capture all the nuances of non-verbal communication.
There is a push instead for lives that are more genuinely connected, purposeful, resilient, and thriving on inclusion. Only in this way, it is argued, can we ensure and safeguard the well-being and wellness of the majority in communities.
One of the week’s highlights was a tweet which implored users to share job openings they may come across to help those who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The tweet also encouraged entrepreneurs to look at ways in which “they can employ one or two.”
It may have been a lonely, perhaps, forlorn effort. But I saw an attempt that supports businessman Grant Cardone’s rich observation that “more people depend on you than you know.”
Associate professor of psychology Sherry Davis Molock uses group assignments in her classes to promote the value of both intellectual and emotional belonging. Speaking to The Chronicle of Higher Education, she says: “part of the assignment is that they have to be a community.
They give themselves a name. And when someone isn’t doing well in the community, then part of their agenda is based on how they manage that. It’s amazing how in the beginning they hate it. But in the end, they get to know each other
better.”
Health and wellness educator, Tom Roberts, tells the same publication that, “a lot of our professors are starting their classes just getting people to take a breath, unwind, unplug, and just relax, and focus on what they’re about to pay attention to.”
While the current health environment has often called on people to adopt unfamiliar and difficult routines, it is also true that controls and restrictions have empowered communities to create, promote and nurture environments where everyone thrives.
Voices demanding societies which fight for every citizen’s well-being and wellness argue that when this objective is realised, communities will reap unending benefits that will be passed on to generations for years to come.
They argue that while the curfews, lockdowns, and different models of restrictions can be inconvenient – and have put the virtue of patience to the test – it is also indisputable that the health situation has led the world to repurpose and refocus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Further, it has been noted that the Covid-19 environment has brought governments together in new, experimental and unexpected ways, and catapulted local actions to contain the pandemic onto the global stage.
The professional services firm PwC has noted that, “facing world challenges in a coordinated way, could move the needle on issues which include poverty, food, education, decent work, clean water, access to goods and energy, and much more.”