Man, 2020 just ain’t it. Y’all just hate to see it. I just wrote about how catastrophic January was a few blogs ago (click here to reread that post), but here we are, in the middle of a warlike crisis. Somehow, in a matter of days, weeks and months, an unknown invisible virus has got the world on its heels. COVID-19, widely known as the Corona virus, has turned from a mysterious ailment from a small province in the Great East to a pandemic plaguing the whole wide world. Like me and many have expressed, 2020 just ain’t it.

Indeed, it feels like we’re living in an alternate universe. WW3 should have never been in talks. Our ancestors settled their beef literally a century ago. Australia should never have been on fire to begin with. How the heck did Taal suddenly wake up from its quarter-century long slumber? Kobe freaking Bryant must still be with us. There’s no way he should be gone. The probability of finding the phrase “Kobe Bryant dead” on Google search is one in a million. And to top it all off, Corona virus should’ve never spread in the first place.

Welp, that previous paragraph just summarized how out of character this year has been and will possibly continue to be (we’re only two and a half months in, mind you). Amidst all the tragedies, hoaxes, fake news and real crises, our greatest battle is and will always remain with ourselves. We’re the ones holding ourselves back. Hard to imagine, right? Fair enough. In fact, it’s okay to disagree with my current claim. But hear me out, with everything that’s happening in our world right now, we can react and respond in a variety of ways.

We can overreact and blame God for all the bad stuff that’s happening.

We can fault other people for spreading the virus in the first place.

We can start hoarding toiletries and go panic buying to feel “safe”, while our neighbors are out there starving and suffering outside the streets.

We can go clout-chasing on Twitter while spreading “fake news” just to gain likes and retweets.

Or, we can simply carry on with our lives, while counting our blessings and sharing them with those in need.

You see, I was raised in a family where the first four choices ain’t it. It’s not because we hate ranting and spreading negative energy in some aspects of our lives. It does not mean that I’m suddenly immune from adversity, trials and tribulations. If anything, I’m one of the most anxious people you can think of whenever things don’t go according to plan. Rather, we just realize how lucky we are with the everyday blessings, no matter how major or minor, the Man Upstairs has given us. Yes, life’s hard, and these global catastrophes have justified why life can be so unfair sometimes. But hear me out, it ain’t all that bad all the time. This is just a temporary phase, and as Loki said to his brother Thor before Thanos choked him to death, “The sun will shine on us again brother.”

Again, I’m not a man of authority or power, so who am I to tell you how to react. However, it does help that we start spreading positive vibes in the midst of all this. Sure, being quarantined in the confines of your homes ain’t easy. Lack of productivity, anxiety and even boredom may get in the way as you wait for the days to pass by quickly. But just think about those diagnosed with this virus, the number of families separated due to travel bans and quarantines, etc. Indeed, these realizations may sometimes give us “survivor’s guilt”, but that’s okay because we’re all human. What truly matters is we pick ourselves up again and help in the best way possible. Helping others may be as simple as staying put from now until further research and news bits have been gathered. After all, we wouldn’t wanna increase the chances of us either getting the virus or spreading it to others.

For my readers who tested positive, it ain’t the end of the world. Or course, that kinda mentality is easier said than done, but from someone who was diagnosed with swine flu (Influenza H1N1) back in 2009, y’all are gonna get through this. I believe in you guys. The road ain’t gonna be easy and there will be a lot of self-doubt, but always remember, my Guy upstairs got us, and there’s no way He’ll want to see y’all suffer.

Like I said from the top, 2020 just ain’t it. The beauty, however, is that we’re only in its beginning stages. The year is still very young and a lot can still happen. I know, it’s hard to bring in positive vibes with all the anxiety and uncertainty looming, but hear me out, we’ve been through worse. Our grandparents survived a couple of World Wars, hence, the reason while y’all are here right now. We quickly recovered after 9/11. Business was boomin’ after the Great Depression. All those flues back in the day, gone in a matter of weeks and months. So to COVID-19, virus ka lang (you’re just a virus). Tuloy pa rin ang laban (We live to fight another day).

Sincerely,

D.E.L. R.O.

PS: If y’all are scared of “Social Distancing”, try it. I’ve been doin’ that since ’97. 😉