FINDING HOPE IN A WORLD OF DESPAIR
WE live with high hopes for a future that will restore better times. Yet the mood of the country and the world grows darker, with heightened fear, less hope and more despair.
As Australia feels the impact of coronavirus, and people are still recovering from the devastation caused by the bushfires and floods, it is with great optimism that we watch governments and institutions show solidarity and great unity in the face of adversity. It makes me wonder why this collaborative approach cannot always be at the forefront.
Instead of constantly opposing each other and fighting, why can we not have a thoughtful and unified approach to each other beyond times of turmoil?
As the world grapples with a pandemic, it will hopefully show a glimmer of great promise that in the face of a global crisis, the world is united to find a cure, and we will long remember the benefits of collaboration.
The statement “history repeats itself’’ seems beyond profound as we watch the COVID-19 virus outbreak across the world, fuelled by media frenzy.
Just over 100 years ago was the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, which infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide – about one-third of the planet’s population – and killed 20 million to 50 million people. It hit Europe, the US and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world.
When the 1918 flu spread, doctors and scientists were unsure what caused it or how to treat it. There were no effective vaccines or antiviral drugs to combat the flu.
Complicating matters was the fact that World War I had left parts of countries with a shortage of physicians and other health workers. And of the available medical personnel, many came down with the flu themselves – a similar theme to what we are watching unfold now.
Back then, authorities in some communities imposed quarantines, ordered citizens to wear masks and shut down public places. People were advised to avoid shaking hands and to stay indoors.
We can see a similar precautionary approach today, with an attitude of care and consideration to reduce and prevent widespread illness – putting humanity first.
However, the differences between the global response in 1918 and today could not be more striking.
When scientists suspected a virus, within two weeks information was shared across the global scientific community, allowing labs around the world to understand the virus and to search for a vaccine and cure.
Unlike 1918, today we have antibiotics to help cure and mitigate widespread illness.
Although we have confidence a vaccine will be identified and the world will return to a more resilient place, human behaviour will be tested in the “waiting period’’. The hope is that unity can be achieved, bringing all nations closer as scientists pursue with great urgency a prevention and cure approach.
In the meantime, people are afraid and we must show courage and ensure that fear, paranoia and prejudice do not creep into our world.
Instead, we must show compassion, consideration and unconditional love to our fellow human beings. The sense of connecting to the underlying spirit of life and hidden resilience of the human soul is the source of genuine hope.
As history has shown us, great turmoil precedes an awakening of humankind’s maturity and unification, that will ultimately shed the light of unity to illuminate the entire world on all matters and pave the way for more harmonious times.