We as humanity are probably facing the most difficult and challenging time, most of us have never encountered anything like this in our life span. As the human race, we are being reminded that we are not in-charge, the smallest of God's creation can wreak havoc on us humans but at the same time, God has given us wisdom and intelligence to take measures to control and eradicate this tiniest monster.
The best prevention, so far, is self-isolation: those countries who have taken the bold decision of lockdown earlier have been able to slow down the spreading of the virus successfully.
Humans are social animals, it’s extremely hard for us to stay locked up for 2-3 wks at a time but we have no choice at this time other than complying with the orders of experts and for the sake of humanity “STAY AT HOME”.
What can I do when I stay at home? Unfortunately being a doctor, i don't have this option of staying at home, but I do have a few suggestions about how to make this time useful for us and all the family members.
Use this time to connect with Almighty God, do not ignore the fact that He is in control and He is merciful, He created this life as a test Not as a luxury, the way we as humans react to these calamities and tests determine our fate here and hereafter.
Improve your relationships with your family. Instead of causing panic in the house, sit together, eat together and listen to each other. Call your family and friends regularly and ask about their well being. Strong family relationships have been proven to be the strongest predictor of happiness.
Check on your neighbors and less fortunate relatives, if you’re one of the blessed people, open your hearts and pockets to help others who may be running out of basic supplies, order groceries for them or deliver at their door.
Take advantage of this alone time and look inside your life, introspection can teach you a lot of good lessons, think about what you have done so far, how have you lived your life so far and establish future goals. You live only once, and most of the time we are unaware of the purpose of our life and we don't live a life with our maximum potential, this could be due to two main reasons, 10 Fear of failure , 2) fear of other people's opinion. Once we live the life without these two fears and start taking risk, your potential to grow and succeed will increase tremendously. Please allow yourself and your kids to fail.
Every soul has been created with a purpose and a special gift, use this precious time and look inside yourself and find your purpose of life, explore the gift in you. Life cannot be just waking up, going to job or school, Gossip, come home, eat, watch tv and go to sleep and repeat the cycle every day and die someday without fulfilling your purpose and dream. Write down the story of your life so far, write down your dreams, set monthly, yearly and long term goals. As a Muslim, the meaning of my life is submission to God almighty and serve others. Don’t live a selfish life, you’ve got to think of others not just yourself and your immediate family and friends. It doesn’t matter what religion, race, country, ethnicity you belong to, we all have to find our own purpose of life, life is a gift and at the same time a test from GOD, we should try to become the best version of ourselves and prepare ourselves to face our creator one day.
Do Not waste too much time watching TV/News these days. Control your hours on social media, don’t spread posts without confirmation.
Find out those small things which cause most stress in your life and try to eradicate those things. Most of the time 20% of problems cause 80% of your stress.
Use this time wisely and plan for a successful and happy life for yourself and your loved ones. Dream big and take risks in life to have a prosperous life, becoming a wealthy person is not a bad thing, Money is not evil, it’s the greed for money that makes it evil. Learn and teach your kids some basic principles of money management. Financial intelligence is the key to survive in times like this. I agree that money alone doesn’t make you happy, but there’s no happiness without money in this modern time. Money is one of the vital ingredients of a happy life, but the fact is, you can be successful in this world with a lot of money but not necessarily a happy person. Think about how we can achieve both success and happiness in our life, I have my own formula of happiness and you make your own.
There are 6 ingredients of my happy life which I would like to share with you, you may add more to it but you cannot take anything away from this list.
A) Faith: A connection with Almighty makes you humble, it teaches you morality and self-control. No matter what faith you belong to, spiritual connection is what we need in times like this to keep hope alive.
B) Strong Family connection: A strong relationship with your family definitely brings happiness and strength in your life and is proven by numerous studies as the most important ingredient of a happy life.
C) Money: I have already mentioned the importance of money for a happy life, imagine how much Good you can do for your family and others with this blessing from God.
D) Health: No amount of money can make you happy if you don’t have good health, it’s vital to take care of yourself, work out regularly, eat healthy food, read healthy and positive material for the health of your brain, you become what you eat and what you read.
E) Gratefulness: Always be thankful for what you have and what you don’t have, it brings humility in you and protects you from arrogance.
F) Give: Charity should be a vital part of your life, share your blessings with others, it’s not only the money you can give and share, you can also help people with your knowledge, time and positive energy, even your smile is a charity, treat others well.
I worry that so many people depend on daily work to earn money so they can bring food for their family, we all should use this time to think about how to earn money other than just working and have more than one source of income, start thinking about how to create multiple sources of income so if things turn upside down in your life, you still get some sort of flow of income from different sources. Remember it doesn’t take money to make money, it takes guts to make money.
I hope my article helps us understand the importance of caring for each other in this difficult time, we as a nation, as a race of humanity should stand strong and be hopeful that together we can defeat this disease by exercising the best preventative measures to slow down the spread and stay home and stay clean but at the same time share our resources and blessings with people around us who may be weaker and less fortunate than us. Rise above your race and religion and help the greater humanity.
Comments