Right attitude the key
Yes, the lockdown or curfew, now in its fourth week, is stifling both physically and psychologically. Health walks cannot be done except inside one’s house or garden. Grocery deliveries are not bringing the exact goodies that some foodies desire. That evening drinks gathering at the club or at home has become only a memory.
And much more: haircuts and designer stubble must now be ‘designed’ at home but without that perfect curve down the cheek; home-made weights for muscle-toning; group study for exams only on Skype or Zoom; latest clothing designs are only to be viewed online. And forget about speeding down the highway.
The list of forbidden desires can be long, depending on not just one’s financial capacity but also on one’s attitude. In addition to the teachings of the Buddha on the ‘Right Attitude’, most religions as well as philosophies have some guidance for us in mentally equipping ourselves to achieve what we have decided is the correct thing to do at any particular time.
We now live in a time of a serious pandemic that thrives precisely on some of the hallmarks of our modern civilisation: rapid mass transit and mass consumerism. If we wish to persist with that life-style amid the pandemic, then we are simply putting not only ourselves but our civilisation in danger.
Having the ‘right attitude’ means that we must mentally work it out for ourselves, having absorbed the vast flow of information we get about the sheer deadliness and speed of COVID-19. How can we not understand what COVID-19 means and portends after all these weeks not only of the contagion’s impact here, but also the havoc it is causing throughout the world, especially those parts with which we have the most contact – through culture, business and our links with the Diaspora?
“No man is an island, entire of itself…”, mused John Donne, famous 17th century British philosopher-poet. There could no better counterpoint to us living on island Sri Lanka as we undergo the suffering of a contagion coming from overseas. Despite our apparent island ‘safety’ from physical threats, within weeks of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, over 4,000 kilometres away, we got it here.
In fact we may not have detected it that early if not for the professionalism of our medical experts. Fortunately, our medical experts do not have such a naively selfish ‘island mentality’ like some citizens. ‘Thinking globally’ and knowing of the continuous inflow of tourists, especially the passenger flows from China, they quickly set up infection checks at the airport.
And the entire cohort of our hardworking and socially committed medical workers and health administrators had been at it since that day of the first infection detection in late January. These columns will continue to remind our readers of the commitment, discipline and sheer labours of these dedicated cadres. The UK and the US may be reverberating with complaints and even strikes by medical workers compelled to be COVID-19 ‘first responders’ without all the needed protective gear, but not our first responders. Time and again we have seen these dedicated personnel, ably supported by ancillary staff responding to emergency cases as they happen.
But what of our citizens, many of whom would be the first to claim their ‘patriotism’ and ‘religiosity’? Why is it that, after so much has been seen to happen and so much continuous announcements and ‘alerts’, there are still those citizens who do things that, then, put themselves in danger and completely disrupt the lives of many others, if not endangering them as well?
Just yesterday, a wholesale fish market near Piliyandala had to be shutdown simply because of a single fishmonger’s persistence in plying his trade over and above the restricted movement allowed for his business. The entire local fish supply has been disrupted for both traders and local consumers. Literally a few thousand people, if not more, all living under curfew, have further problems in their supply of fish.
Meanwhile, a single barber in a densely populated suburban neighbourhood of Colombo plied his trade in his ‘wattha’ and in other adjoining ‘watthas’. He was found to be COVID-19 positive, resulting in over a thousand people of hundreds of families being sent to quarantine.
No doubt his customers were happy to have their haircuts and designer stubble, but at what cost? Not only were the lives of hundreds of households disrupted, but it also incurred additional State costs in equipment, sanitary resources and work-time for already overworked medical staff, police and Security Forces.
We must ask ourselves: if our medical and health workers are working with risk to their lives without complaint, why cannot we delay a haircut and delay it without feeling any ‘loss’ or lack of ‘fulfillment of desire’?
Our economic experts warn that the current economic downturn could be shortened and a recovery could begin by the end of the year but only if the pandemic does not drag on too long. Our mental focus, our attitude, should be one that speeds up recovery rather than delay it. We need to behave in accordance with the civilisation to which we belong – if we are to save it.
Yes, the lockdown or curfew, now in its fourth week, is stifling both physically and psychologically. Health walks cannot be done except inside one’s house or garden. Grocery deliveries are not bringing the exact goodies that some foodies desire. That evening drinks gathering at the club or at home has become only a memory.
And much more: haircuts and designer stubble must now be ‘designed’ at home but without that perfect curve down the cheek; home-made weights for muscle-toning; group study for exams only on Skype or Zoom; latest clothing designs are only to be viewed online. And forget about speeding down the highway.
The list of forbidden desires can be long, depending on not just one’s financial capacity but also on one’s attitude. In addition to the teachings of the Buddha on the ‘Right Attitude’, most religions as well as philosophies have some guidance for us in mentally equipping ourselves to achieve what we have decided is the correct thing to do at any particular time.
We now live in a time of a serious pandemic that thrives precisely on some of the hallmarks of our modern civilisation: rapid mass transit and mass consumerism. If we wish to persist with that life-style amid the pandemic, then we are simply putting not only ourselves but our civilisation in danger.
Having the ‘right attitude’ means that we must mentally work it out for ourselves, having absorbed the vast flow of information we get about the sheer deadliness and speed of COVID-19. How can we not understand what COVID-19 means and portends after all these weeks not only of the contagion’s impact here, but also the havoc it is causing throughout the world, especially those parts with which we have the most contact – through culture, business and our links with the Diaspora?
“No man is an island, entire of itself…”, mused John Donne, famous 17th century British philosopher-poet. There could no better counterpoint to us living on island Sri Lanka as we undergo the suffering of a contagion coming from overseas. Despite our apparent island ‘safety’ from physical threats, within weeks of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, over 4,000 kilometres away, we got it here.
In fact we may not have detected it that early if not for the professionalism of our medical experts. Fortunately, our medical experts do not have such a naively selfish ‘island mentality’ like some citizens. ‘Thinking globally’ and knowing of the continuous inflow of tourists, especially the passenger flows from China, they quickly set up infection checks at the airport.
And the entire cohort of our hardworking and socially committed medical workers and health administrators had been at it since that day of the first infection detection in late January. These columns will continue to remind our readers of the commitment, discipline and sheer labours of these dedicated cadres. The UK and the US may be reverberating with complaints and even strikes by medical workers compelled to be COVID-19 ‘first responders’ without all the needed protective gear, but not our first responders. Time and again we have seen these dedicated personnel, ably supported by ancillary staff responding to emergency cases as they happen.
But what of our citizens, many of whom would be the first to claim their ‘patriotism’ and ‘religiosity’? Why is it that, after so much has been seen to happen and so much continuous announcements and ‘alerts’, there are still those citizens who do things that, then, put themselves in danger and completely disrupt the lives of many others, if not endangering them as well?
Just yesterday, a wholesale fish market near Piliyandala had to be shutdown simply because of a single fishmonger’s persistence in plying his trade over and above the restricted movement allowed for his business. The entire local fish supply has been disrupted for both traders and local consumers. Literally a few thousand people, if not more, all living under curfew, have further problems in their supply of fish.
Meanwhile, a single barber in a densely populated suburban neighbourhood of Colombo plied his trade in his ‘wattha’ and in other adjoining ‘watthas’. He was found to be COVID-19 positive, resulting in over a thousand people of hundreds of families being sent to quarantine.
No doubt his customers were happy to have their haircuts and designer stubble, but at what cost? Not only were the lives of hundreds of households disrupted, but it also incurred additional State costs in equipment, sanitary resources and work-time for already overworked medical staff, police and Security Forces.
We must ask ourselves: if our medical and health workers are working with risk to their lives without complaint, why cannot we delay a haircut and delay it without feeling any ‘loss’ or lack of ‘fulfillment of desire’?
Our economic experts warn that the current economic downturn could be shortened and a recovery could begin by the end of the year but only if the pandemic does not drag on too long. Our mental focus, our attitude, should be one that speeds up recovery rather than delay it. We need to behave in accordance with the civilisation to which we belong – if we are to save it.
