The coronavirus that emerged in China’s Wuhan City in late December 2019 has spanned the globe and the World Health Organisation called this deadly disease a global pandemic. Different countries are locked down with their economies crashing and institutions, public spaces including entertainment corners are empty and only a few vehicles can be seen on the road. Tourism industry crashes because of a ban on traveling, leaving the hill stations and islands deserted.
I believe the outbreak of this virus has not only confined us to our homes but also very drastically brought changes in our lives. It pushes the reset button for all of us. For starters, we began appreciating the simpler times and the little things in life. Staying together under one roof has brought us closer to each other like old times. From a positive perspective, it’s a perfect opportunity for us to mend ourselves and our ways, self-reflect and fix our lifestyles.
A thing to ponder upon is that due to human beings retreating from public spaces and outside the world, in fear of the coronavirus, nature has begun to reclaim its space. With no human existence, the earth has started to heal itself. The water is clear in lakes and other reservoirs; birds are back to the cities and on skies; forests are greener than ever; deers are roaming freely and swans and ducks can be seen floating on waters. We can see everyone is trying to fight this virus while staying indoors, the environment is healing itself on its own.
The roads can be seen as clean as no human population is outside of litter. The air is clear and the sky is clean due to no smoke and no smog. Birds are free to breathe in the fresh air. The oceans and beaches are cleaning themselves, as no waste has been thrown into them. Animals in water are living in clean water. We can say that nature is at its best appearance. It shows how we humans have taken over the earth and instead of learning how to coexist with other living beings, we had captivated the territory amid living space of other living beings.
We’ve destroyed habitats of animals and consumed their spaces for our resources. Our human existence has had a somewhat toxic effect on the planet. It’s high time for us to learn that we do not own this planet, we share it with a lot of other living beings. We have realized it the hard way, we must hold onto it now. I hope the coronavirus leaves us with a lesson to coexist or nature will find extreme ways to reclaim its space. Think about it!