Learn to Take Responsibility for Your Circumstances

Life lessons from the COVID pandemic that will help you through the toughest of times

Nihilism, philosophy that denies the existence of genuine moral truths and asserts the ultimate meaninglessness of life or of the universe ~ Definition by Brittanica.com

This pandemic is one such example that had surely triggered a nihilistic approach to life in many.

We all went through a lockdown that led to huge losses in business and life. It started with an outbreak all over the world affecting all sections of society. After almost 8 months of lockdown, people thought they had won but then there was the second wave. While some countries had learned their lesson from the first wave and were prepared, others were not. It came as a crushing blow here in India.

Who is responsible the govt. or the people ?

The India government was ill-prepared and the infrastructure was unequipped to handle the burden of this ever-growing population. The result was horrific. People were dying because of the lack of availability of beds in hospitals. While relatives and friends frantically ran from one hospital to another in search of oxygen cylinders in vain, saw their loved ones go in front of their eyes. One can only imagine their helplessness and the anger that comes with it.

Close to 500 doctors have died in serving people at the time of my writing this article. And lakhs of patients have succumbed to Covid. Certain states like Uttar Pradesh have even stopped testing and are not disclosing a record of how many people have died. It is the most populated state in India and also has one of the most corrupt governments.

But you can imagine the height of incompetence of the state from the fact that hundreds of dead bodies were found floating in the River Ganges. They had been thrown as the cremation grounds were full. But also because many people are so poor that they didn’t have money for last rites. There is also a dearth of vaccines pan India and the situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

In such a scenario, the individual feeling powerless is more likely to direct their anger towards some authority. Then the blame game starts — blame the doctors, the administrators, the government, God, fate, so on and so forth. It’s a seemingly logical thing to do and also easy to conclude.

But only after a close inspection can one realize how it is us who are responsible for everything happening around. And to see that requires tremendous courage, as it demands of a person to look past the pain.

Before the second wave began, there were nationwide political rallies held in various states and thousands were participating in it. The PM and the home minister were addressing such rallies where no social distancing was maintained and many could be seen without masks. One of the biggest festivals in the world the Kumbh Mela was conducted where again the pandemic rules were flouted.

People elsewhere too, took a callous attitude towards wearing a mask.

And it was commonplace to hear people say

“ isn’t corona at the political rallies where people are not wearing a mask ”.

The advice of the medical fraternity was blatantly ignored by the leadership. And funds were sanctioned to create new buildings but not to build more hospitals.

In such a scenario does it seem justified to blame God or some higher power? Considering that even the virus has been created by man, the intention behind which is nothing but violent.

But in this situation, we have also seen the rise of individual heroism and many people have taken it upon themselves under grave risks to help people.

The Sikh community in particular was foremost in lending support and rising up to the occasion. What started with several free kitchens for meals soon turned into free oxygen supply and various other forms of help from — providing infrastructure support by opening its premises to open hospitals to medical supplies and free ambulance service.

From the brothers in New Delhi who were giving free ambulance service for the cremation of the deceased to the many small factory owners who had started giving out free oxygen langar ( a name for free service ), offering anybody to come with a cylinder and get it filled with oxygen.

There have been several NGOs like Khalsa Aid or celebrities like the popular Bollywood actor Sonu Sood who have come out and done the job of the governments, by helping the masses with food and oxygen.

How are these people different from the rest?

Perhaps the first thing to note here is that these individuals and organizations see themselves as part of the solution. And that can only happen when one feels responsible.

We have often heard the spiderman phrase — “ with great power comes great responsibility”. But it’s also true the other way around —

When you take responsibility you become powerful.

But why is this often not the case?

One reason is that most people are all too overwhelmed by their individual miseries that they can’t think clearly.

So, just like yin yang, there was also a section of society that used this pandemic for personal gains by exploiting the desperation of the needy. There were some ambulance drivers charging 10 times or 20 times the money, and there were people hoarding oxygen cylinders and selling them on the black market. Clearly, these people had not been able to rise above their miseries let alone take responsibility for the situation.

If the citizens of the country felt responsible for the well-being of the nation they would have elected a responsible government. And if the government elected fails to act responsibly it is the moral obligation of a citizen to check them and question the relevance of such governments.

As Jordan Peterson says in his book — “ put your house in order before you put the city in order.”

And before you can even put the house in order you need to put your mind in order.

~ Conclusion ~

“ Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional ” ~ Buddha

Life can be tough and there are moments that are insurmountably overwhelming. The weight of events can be so much that it crushes the spirit and clouds rational thinking. Its often at this juncture one can be found to curse life, God, fate, or whatever name one wants to give to some higher power. It is caused by anger, misery over pain caused by events that seem beyond one’s control. And hence we tend to declare the cause too mustn’t be ours and indulge in our self misery.

Nobody but you is responsible for whats happening in your home., in your mind. Pain is nothing less than a test of one’s character and a playground to learn new skills.

And that’s the beauty of being able to take responsibility for your misery — that you are in control of making things better for yourself too. And thats how you change your life.

These have been tough times for us all. I hope you find the strength and courage to do good and take charge of your life.

Thank you!