My Covid moment: Lessons from 2020

By Jossie D’Mello

Bengaluru: The year 2020 has been a memorable for all of us as it exposed us to the new normal of wearing masks, sanitizing, social distancing, online learning and teaching and work from home.

At the onset of 2020, no one ever imagined that we would be up for such an unforgettable year. Against this background and faced with an unprecedented challenge, we solidly affirm that God’s ways are not our ways. They are mysterious and beyond our comprehension.

As I revisit 2020 from the threshold of 2021, what stands uppermost in my mind is my encounter with Covid-19. I tested positive for the dreaded virus in September 2020 and the encounter has made a lasting impression on my life. The word ‘breath’ caught my attention as I was pondering over my experience with Covid-19.

While undergoing treatment in the hospital, I had to witness three patients dying all of a sudden in a span of a few days. No one – perhaps not even the doctors or nurses – thought that these patients would meet their end so soon.

These deaths began to haunt me with several questions about the meaning, purpose and fragility of our life. Those who died due to Coronavirus did not even have a proper burial. Neither could their near and dear ones pay their last respects. What then is life? How do I live my life? What do I take along with me when I die? What value do wealth, power, qualifications, talents, name and fame have when we are confronted with death?

Nevertheless, in the course of our daily lives, we seldom pay attention to these “life-and-death” issues, but rather fret over matters of little moment. What matters is to live a meaningful and purpose-driven life: a life lived in communion with the Divine Breath, who is God our Lifeline. I believe that this Divine BREATH enabled me to look at the pandemic with optimism and hope.

One of the obvious symptoms of Covid-19, I was told, is breathlessness. Therefore, I kept the oximeter near at hand to check my oxygen level half a dozen times a day. It is then, more than at any time before, that I realized the importance of regular breathing to sustain physical life. Thanks to Covid I have learned that life is precious, and that I must value it and take care of it by regular physical exercise and rest.

Another thing I learned from the invisible virus is the visible reality of the Breath of Humanity. At the core of this Breath of Humanity is the compassion that impelled people to go beyond the barriers of religion and caste to take care of the sick and the afflicted. Thanks to this Breath of Humanity that I became keenly aware of my sense of belonging to the whole human family. Coronavirus infects people regardless of religion, region, class, colour and gender. It has, therefore, to be confronted and defeated on its ground, by the human family as it stands together as one body.

The medical fraternity, the maintenance staff and other helpers in the hospitals were like wingless angels who reached out to me with a smile and without any inhibition. I am grateful to these angels in human shape who enabled me to kill the invisible divisive virus within me and opened my eyes to see my fellow humans as one single interconnected human family.

The world is on a frantic search for a vaccine to fight coronavirus that will save us from extermination. And we are indeed thankful to the scientists who are working at it. But the other virus, as invisible as the coronavirus but even more destructive, is on the prowl, as always, to infect humans. Its variants, as we know, are hatred, jealousy, selfishness, greed and pride.

To our good fortune, the anti-virus is already available in the form of love, kindness, forgiveness and compassion. Let us vaccinate ourselves with these antidotes and save ourselves from self-annihilation. May the Breath of God and the Breath of Humanity add purpose and meaning to our life in the New Year 2021.

I wish you a grace-filled New Year 2021.