What We Can Take Away From The Pandemic Is Gratitude

Be thankful for having the ability to appreciate nature

Today, I finally took a walk outside after more than a week of being holed up inside my apartment. The only action I was doing all these days was the periodic trip from my bed to the couch, and back.

As I stepped outside, I felt an enormous sense of relief. A light breeze was blowing, with the trees slightly swaying in the wind. It was a bit cold, but the sun was shining.

It felt as I were being liberated from my prison, taking my first step into freedom.

I started walking, and it felt amazing! I never knew being outside could feel so great.

Mind you, this is still just walking inside the city, and not fully in nature, but the experience felt as if I were exploring the most pristine forest located somewhere high up in the mountains.

Yet, this was still the small expanse of street that I usually pass through every day on my way to work, or if I go to buy my groceries, if I go anywhere really. Before today, I didn’t really pay attention.

I started feeling thankful for having the chance just to be outside.

I wasn’t really doing anything, just aimlessly wandering. It was all about walking in no particular direction, and enjoying the fact that I was outside.

It is hard to describe how all these bottled up emotions that I had been harboring all these days of being inside, suddenly floated up into my chest, and then were released.

It is in moments such as these that you feel something that you often forget: gratitude.

Life is made up of little moments, and because of our hurried lifestyles, we don’t get the chance to appreciate it.

You only get to start knowing what you have once you lose it.

Be thankful for being healthy

I had a similar feeling last year, after a long period of no activity due to an injury.

I had a slipped disc in my back, and at one point it got so bad that I became paralyzed and couldn’t even move. I was in such excruciating pain, that I had to call the ambulance and be taken to the hospital.

For the next month, I had to stay at home lying on my couch. The only time I ventured outside was to go to work.

Walking was a painful experience, and only after a few steps I always had to look for a bench or something to sit on.

I would look at people walking without pain, and I was jealous. I wanted that.

I wanted something so simple, just the ability to walk. Yet I didn’t have it.

In those moments, I would have given up so much just to be able to take steps without feeling so much pain.

Luckily, after a while I recovered, but that experience of helplessness stayed with me, and made me thankful for having the ability to walk on my own two feet.

Be thankful that better times are ahead

One thing that we can all be thankful for is that we live in modern society, and not during the times of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, or even after World War 1.

All those times, similar pandemics, plagues, and pestilences hit, taking everyone in their paths, killing millions of people.

Luckily, our society today provides us with certain levels of comfort and safety, that we can all take advantage of now.

We have learned from past pandemics, and can apply these lessons now.

Of course, there were lots of mistakes made during the current crisis too, and some people paid dearly for it, however it could have been a lot worse.

Every problem and every mistake is a learning opportunity, and hopefully we will learn from what happened now, so that it doesn’t repeat in the future.

For now, all we can do is to wait, and overcome. This crisis will pass, but let’s remember the lessons that we have learned here.

One of these is gratitude.

Think of all those things that you have that, and that you should be thankful for. If you keep this in mind, it could change your entire outlook on life.

No longer will you have a negative mindset, thinking about the things that you don’t have, and chasing after empty values.

Instead, take a look around, and appreciate what you do have.