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Abstract

pare home-cooked meals?</li><li>To eight hours of sleep per night?</li><li>What if people played sports more often than they watched them?</li><li>What if everyone agreed that universal healthcare is a human right?</li><li>What if mental health were as important as physical health?</li></ul><h1 id="61e1">Work & Careers</h1><ul><li>What if there were no more rat race?</li><li>What if everyone who wanted a remote job could have one?</li><li>What if no one had to commute anymore?</li><li>What if more companies trusted their employees to work from home?</li><li>What if anyone could monetize their skills online?</li><li>What if everyone decided to become entrepreneurs?</li><li>What if everyone felt worthy of having a personal brand?</li><li>What if billions of people started making a living through their natural talents and passions rather than working in jobs they hated?</li></ul><h1 id="1d30">Family Life</h1><ul><li>What if single moms could stay home with their kids?</li><li>What if new parents could bond with their babies?</li><li>What if families spent more quality time together every day?</li><li>What if business travelers could stay home?</li><li>What if there were no such thing as a latchkey kid?</li><li>What if “family leave” were an integrated part of life?</li><li>What if extended families could live closer together?</li><li>What if we could see our relatives any day instead of just on holidays?</li></ul><h1 id="ba00">Love & Relationships</h1><ul><li>What if couples had more sex, time, and connection?</li><li>What if relationships were less one-sided, and couples contributed to household chores equally?</li><li>What if partners appreciated and communicated with each other more?</li><li>What if more people left toxic relationships sooner?</li><li>What if we prioritized friendships over busyness?</li><li>What if we connected with more people one-on-one rather than scrolling social media feeds?</li><li>What if people called each other for no reason other than to check in and say hello?</li></ul><h1 id="0563">Economy</h1><ul><li>What if workers’ rights and well-being were more important than corporate profits?</li><li>What if capitalist economies had more social safety nets?</li><li>What if all citizens earned a basic, livable wage?</li><li>What if people were more cognizant of supporting local businesses and independent workers?</li><li>What if people consumed less stuff and had less debt?</li><li>What if everyone could save enough for retirement?</li><li>What if wealth were more equally distributed across society?</li><li>What if the global economy were less of a zero-sum game?</li></ul><h1 id="5c63">Education</h1><ul><li>What if quality education were available online for free?</li><li>What if the post-industrial model of education were no longer relevant?</li><li>What if parents had more options to educate their children?</li><li>What if home school were the norm?</li><li>What if private and public schools didn’t embody the <i>haves</i> and the <i>have-nots</i>?</li><li>What if college students didn’t have to pay for expensive tuition and housing?</li><li>What if there were no more student loans or student debt?</li></ul><h1 id="8611">Society & Culture</h1><ul><li>What if everyone thought of

Options

themselves as public servants?</li><li>What if we cared more about the well-being of others than ourselves?</li><li>What if people waved hello to each other on the streets rather than cursing and honking in traffic?</li><li>What if the young and healthy looked after the sick and elderly?</li><li>What if we <i>always</i> paid this much attention to the needs of the homeless?</li><li>What if fewer people had to die in car accidents or from drunk driving?</li><li>What if our shared global identity were more important than geopolitics?</li><li>What if there were no more reasons to go to war because we were all on the same team?</li><li>What if we remembered we were one human race rather than nation-states and ideologies separated by invisible borders?</li></ul><h1 id="454e">Planet</h1><ul><li>What if we broke up with coal and oil overnight?</li><li>What if carbon emissions fell by 90%?</li><li>What if we reversed global warming?</li><li>What if the sky were always blue over Shanghai and L.A.?</li><li>What if everyone had clean air to breathe and water to drink?</li><li>What if no one needed cars anymore?</li><li>What if we recognized that adopting clean, renewable energy sources was the only way to move forward?</li><li>What if we had compassion and empathy for animals in captivity, and let them roam free rather than live in cages?</li><li>What if the state of our environment were a direct reflection of our collective mental, physical, and emotional health?</li></ul><h1 id="545b">What kind of world could we co-create together?</h1><figure id="35e2"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*zMqmdrG15hngYjhM"><figcaption>Image: Unsplash</figcaption></figure><blockquote id="348b"><p>What if we didn’t fear change but embraced it?</p></blockquote><blockquote id="b3db"><p>What if we focused on what we <i>can</i> change rather than what we <i>can’t</i>?</p></blockquote><blockquote id="3e22"><p>What if we stopped pointing fingers and started looking for solutions?</p></blockquote><p id="e4cc">Humanity has tragically lost many lives to the novel coronavirus, and we will lose many more. But let’s also think of those we can save, so that the victims don’t die in vain.</p><p id="fdbd">We can’t change the fact that COVID-19 exists. It’s here, and it’s real. But we can decide how to live and love each other (and ourselves) from here on out.</p><p id="b690">Let us be grateful for modern medicine, science, communication, and technology. Let us acknowledge that — compared to what humans suffered through in pre-industrial times, this is a first-world problem.</p><p id="2ed7">Maybe Mother Nature is serving us a hard reset for a reason. We couldn’t continue for much longer on the self-destructive path we were on. We have no choice now but to evolve.</p><p id="62e8">At the end of this journey — however long — we’ll know intimately more about ourselves and the world. It will be crystal clear who we are as individuals and where our priorities lie as a collective global society.</p><p id="5159">Most importantly, maybe we will finally understand that we are an interconnected human race, quarantined for life on a shared planet. We’re in this together for the long haul. Let’s make the most of it.</p></article></body>

What If the Coronavirus Helped Us?

Finding the silver lining in a global pandemic

I punched the first draft of this article into my iPhone Notes App on March 17, 2020 — while out on what would become the first of many self-isolating walks over the following weeks. But instead of hitting publish, I wavered. It seemed too soon to suggest that the COVID-19 crisis could bring anything other than death and destruction to humanity. Nearly a month into the global shutdown, however, a different narrative is emerging — one that suggests that perhaps the demise of society as we know it (er, knew it) is a good thing.

Although the world initially met the coronavirus with mass fear and panic, rogue voices of hope are starting to cut through the noise. The human race has survived pandemics and economic disasters before. We will come out of this eventually. Hopefully, for the better.

I am by no means minimizing the severity of this tragedy, but I also don’t want to add more to our collective sadness and grief.

Instead, I’m here to pose some uncomfortable questions to help cultivate a different long-term vision of our post-COVID-19 world. I hope you get some of the answers you’ve been looking for.

What would happen if we started asking, “what if?”

What if we shifted out of panic mode and into patience?

What if we embraced our time on house arrest rather than resisting it?

What if this were the beginning of a new paradigm rather than the end of the world?

If this is rock bottom, where can we go from here, together? Can we harness some kind of magical, collective alchemy to turn this disaster into an opportunity to create better conditions for life on our planet?

“What if this virus were an ally in our evolution?”

What if our shared trauma brought us closer together as a global community and forced us to make some desperately needed changes? Let’s explore this hypothesis and its possible effect on different aspects of life. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a start. So, rather than bemoaning reality, let’s start creating it.

Individual Life

What if everyone had a break from perpetual busyness?
What if it were quiet enough to hear ourselves think?
What if it were okay to be bored?
What if people had time to pursue their dreams for the first time?
What if writers started writing?
What if artists started painting?
What if creators started creating?

Health & Wellness

What if people had more time for rest or self-care?
To walk 10,000 steps per day?
To prepare home-cooked meals?
To eight hours of sleep per night?
What if people played sports more often than they watched them?
What if everyone agreed that universal healthcare is a human right?
What if mental health were as important as physical health?

Work & Careers

What if there were no more rat race?
What if everyone who wanted a remote job could have one?
What if no one had to commute anymore?
What if more companies trusted their employees to work from home?
What if anyone could monetize their skills online?
What if everyone decided to become entrepreneurs?
What if everyone felt worthy of having a personal brand?
What if billions of people started making a living through their natural talents and passions rather than working in jobs they hated?

Family Life

What if single moms could stay home with their kids?
What if new parents could bond with their babies?
What if families spent more quality time together every day?
What if business travelers could stay home?
What if there were no such thing as a latchkey kid?
What if “family leave” were an integrated part of life?
What if extended families could live closer together?
What if we could see our relatives any day instead of just on holidays?

Love & Relationships

What if couples had more sex, time, and connection?
What if relationships were less one-sided, and couples contributed to household chores equally?
What if partners appreciated and communicated with each other more?
What if more people left toxic relationships sooner?
What if we prioritized friendships over busyness?
What if we connected with more people one-on-one rather than scrolling social media feeds?
What if people called each other for no reason other than to check in and say hello?

Economy

What if workers’ rights and well-being were more important than corporate profits?
What if capitalist economies had more social safety nets?
What if all citizens earned a basic, livable wage?
What if people were more cognizant of supporting local businesses and independent workers?
What if people consumed less stuff and had less debt?
What if everyone could save enough for retirement?
What if wealth were more equally distributed across society?
What if the global economy were less of a zero-sum game?

Education

What if quality education were available online for free?
What if the post-industrial model of education were no longer relevant?
What if parents had more options to educate their children?
What if home school were the norm?
What if private and public schools didn’t embody the haves and the have-nots?
What if college students didn’t have to pay for expensive tuition and housing?
What if there were no more student loans or student debt?

Society & Culture

What if everyone thought of themselves as public servants?
What if we cared more about the well-being of others than ourselves?
What if people waved hello to each other on the streets rather than cursing and honking in traffic?
What if the young and healthy looked after the sick and elderly?
What if we always paid this much attention to the needs of the homeless?
What if fewer people had to die in car accidents or from drunk driving?
What if our shared global identity were more important than geopolitics?
What if there were no more reasons to go to war because we were all on the same team?
What if we remembered we were one human race rather than nation-states and ideologies separated by invisible borders?

Planet

What if we broke up with coal and oil overnight?
What if carbon emissions fell by 90%?
What if we reversed global warming?
What if the sky were always blue over Shanghai and L.A.?
What if everyone had clean air to breathe and water to drink?
What if no one needed cars anymore?
What if we recognized that adopting clean, renewable energy sources was the only way to move forward?
What if we had compassion and empathy for animals in captivity, and let them roam free rather than live in cages?
What if the state of our environment were a direct reflection of our collective mental, physical, and emotional health?

What kind of world could we co-create together?

What if we didn’t fear change but embraced it?

What if we focused on what we can change rather than what we can’t?

What if we stopped pointing fingers and started looking for solutions?

Humanity has tragically lost many lives to the novel coronavirus, and we will lose many more. But let’s also think of those we can save, so that the victims don’t die in vain.

We can’t change the fact that COVID-19 exists. It’s here, and it’s real. But we can decide how to live and love each other (and ourselves) from here on out.

Let us be grateful for modern medicine, science, communication, and technology. Let us acknowledge that — compared to what humans suffered through in pre-industrial times, this is a first-world problem.

Maybe Mother Nature is serving us a hard reset for a reason. We couldn’t continue for much longer on the self-destructive path we were on. We have no choice now but to evolve.

At the end of this journey — however long — we’ll know intimately more about ourselves and the world. It will be crystal clear who we are as individuals and where our priorities lie as a collective global society.

Most importantly, maybe we will finally understand that we are an interconnected human race, quarantined for life on a shared planet. We’re in this together for the long haul. Let’s make the most of it.