Patience
Synonym: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Hope
Synonym: as in wish, dream
In the second week of December 1988, an earthquake devastated the western Asian country Armenia, killing an estimated 25,000 people. In one small town, right after the earthquake, a father rushed to his son's school only to find that the school had been knocked down and there was no sign of life. However, he had no thought of turning back.
Though the prospects appeared hopeless, he began removing rubbles from where he believed his son's classroom had been while other parents only wailed hopelessly. With strength and endurance beyond himself, loving father continued to dig and then in the 38th hour, as he lifted away a heavy piece of rubble, he heard voices. "Armand!" he screamed.
A child's voice responded: "Dad! It's me, Armand!" Then, "I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you would save me, and when you saved me, they would be saved as well". Moments later, the dad was helping his son Armand and 13 other frightened, hungry, thirsty boys and girls climb out of the debris. Luckily, when the building collapsed, these children had been spared in a tent-like pocket.
As individuals, we should be aware that circumstances around Covid-19 pandemic is the experience of a lifetime, unique and we are all sailing in the same boat — even the two extreme wars in the last century had never brought the world to a halt like this.
As of now, the only solution seems to be patience and hope, which is similar to what Armand had demonstrated while he was struck midst of the rubbles to get saved by his father two days later. Let us stay safe and hope that our scientists will develop treatments to slow the pandemic and lessen the disease's damage at the earliest.
Patience is the need of the hour. While the patience puts us in direct control of ourselves, hope can bring us joy and peace amid the turmoil. Moreover, hope can provide endurance and further patience instead of tempting us to quit.
While coronavirus pandemic has a lot of dark sides, the current crisis gives the people working from home one big opportunity, which is 'more time'. With all our travel time to work saved and all our social activities forbidden, we have some additional time for us at our disposal. We should make use of this opportunity and utilize this time to learn and upskill ourselves. Always remember the 'Rule of doing a little bit more & less'.
1.01 ^ 365 = 37.8.Outcome by the end of the year by doing a little bit more.
0.99 ^ 365 = 0.03. Outcome by the end of the year by doing a little bit less.
The difference between 1.01 and 0.99 seems only 0.02. The result of doing something more every day in terms of learning and upskilling would make a great difference in our lives.
References:
www.crossway.org & https://godshotspot.wordpress.com/ on Armenia Earthquake
Images from Google & Pinterest.
About the Author
The Author Guruswamy Radhakrishnan, a good friend of mine is a busy corporate person heading a logistics division. He romanticises the past and yet loves the challenges the present. He is a big believer in Gratitude.