23-03-20
Coronavirus is disgusting. It is a highly infectious disease and can remain with us with no cure. From epidemic to pandemic, the virus keeps on person-to-person spreading in multiple countries. When will it stop? “How many deaths will it take till he knows. That too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answeris blowin’ in the wind.”
Before God, all are equally foolish although some pretend to be wiser. Our present suffering must be a sign from Him that we should be alert about the warning. It is not too late that the human must learn to ‘un-live’ and ‘re-live’. We used to be arrogant. We want to be a richer but not a better person. We have become selfish, ignored hygiene, killed wild animals and took over the green and the blue in nature with tons of plastic bags and trash.
Masks are suffocating. Alcohol hand gel is hurting. Schools are shutting down. Stocks and business are plummeting. People are losing jobs. There is panic shopping. Cities are put on lockdown. Persons are in self-isolation. So, where are we? If all mankind can learn and know what we should and should not do after this disaster, we will get back up. But if we are stupid enough not to realize the reason and purpose for our pain, we will be knocked down forever. We will be God’s third mistake after Adam and Eve. Let us consider the clouds which may come with a silver lining.
- Hygiene
Many friends told me that for the first time in their life did they wash their hands in the office after going out. Some started to spray antiseptic on shoes before they entered a house. We began to put down a public toilet lid after use but before flushing. We had the courage to insist on using serving chopsticks and spoons when having Chinese meals with friends.
If not due to the pandemic, people would not have realized that the greatest benefit of good hygiene is having better health and social environment. Keeping our city clean helps prevent infection from virus so that we may suffer less in future. We should try to stop the selfish acts of interrupting natural patterns and disrupting the lives of wild animals.
No matter how bad things are, there is always a way of forcing you to become aware of who you terribly were and why you must change. We ought to make a ‘clean’ break with the dirty past and get rid of the bad habits.
- Family
Most shops are now closed before 10pm and people go home early. Gyms and cinemas
cannot operate. Ban on pubs and bars are imposed. We are witnessing a different Hong Kong. Our city is silent at night. Before, our excuses for being absent from family supper are all egocentric: we got friends to entertain, went to gym, enjoyed shopping, worked overtime and took courses for personal interest. The bond that linked us to the family was not care or concern, but the bed for a 6-hour sleep.
COVID-19 has changed us completely. We are all housebound. We have more time to stay at home including WFH(work from home), talk to wife or husband, play with kids, learn to cook and read books. Family used to mean little but now it is everything. Under the attack of coronavirus, a home for us is the most wonderful shelter full of joy and love.
- Technology
Back in the early 2000s, mobile phone apps were something that most people knew nothing about. Good apps can help mircomanage our life but busy Hong Kong people in the past had no interest to find out. To combat the chaos and solve the problems during virus panic, we have to download a lot of apps: Zoom Meeting, Google Family Link for children at home who could not go to school, Netflix home entertainments, Amazon shopping, Foodpanda delivery and BOCHK mobile applications……
Government wants Hong Kong to become a ‘smart city’ and people the ‘IT-smart’ citizens. Despite the calling, our reaction has been slow. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, we did not bother how proficient, popular and indispensable technology could be. Now, we finally understand that we cannot live without these crazy little inventions. Although some of us hate the change and speed caused by these innovations, perhaps it is time for a conservative society like Hong Kong to learn to keep the pace.
The catastrophe we are in is reminding us what we really need. It is also helping us search better future values especially the family and spiritual love. A time of crisis is not just a period of fear and sadness. The hard time taught us a big lesson and gave us a chance to change: learning to live meaningfully for the simple things which we never thought worthwhile or possible.
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