Save the World!! Who Me??

This morning an old friend of the family called. He said on a Saturday morning he would normally be out busy buying the weekly groceries but since everyone is staying put at home, he was wondering what to do and decided to call up. We used to live in the same society years ago. His call immediately brought cheer, and the pure joy of connecting with an old friend. After speaking to him I was reminded of a wonderful picnic we had all gone out together on- possibly one of my oldest childhood memories and I chuckled as I relived a funny moment from that trip. I am still smiling as I think about it again! Our friend’s decision of calling this morning, may have seemed like small, irrelevant, but now as I reflect, it impacted us in the cheer it generated, got me to relive a wonderful memory I hadn’t thought of in years and imagine it has even provided inspiration to get back to writing here!

Every act, every decision of ours has an impact on our system- on us, our family, our teams, our neighbours, larger society

 I believe the COVID 19 situation can really help us realise and see closely how much we are truly all interconnected. It is helping us see more clearly how a single action we take affects the system. With the noise, distractions, overload and bombardment of stimulus our senses are so used to each day it is very easy to get lost in the happenings around us and lose the significance of our every move and action. Now with there be lockdowns, shutdowns, we have the quiet, the time and the space to observe how each act impacts the larger system.

The WHO Director had a special message for young people in his address yesterday when he said 'You are not invincible. The virus could put you in hospital for weeks, even kill you. His next sentence is so significant-

Even if you don’t get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else

While one may not suffer from the symptoms, one could still be a carrier and infect others one is living with or comes in contact with. And in this reality, small acts and decisions that would have only about a few weeks ago seemed insignificant such as where I decide to go for a walk, what I touch while I am out now take on humungous proportions of significance- Because I may not get infected but I may carry the virus home and pass it on to others I meet

More clearly than ever before we see the significance of our decisions. We are able to see how what we do, what we say really has an impact on others, on society at large. And in this we also realise a strong truth- while my actions (however small) impact others, it also means that I have the power to positively impact society. This power has always been with us. But with the din of daily life, with technology taking over, busyness taking over, we don't realise it and rather than feeling empowered we often feel overwhelmed!

 As the noise around us reduces as we socially distance ourselves, may we more fully understand and appreciate this reality and also see in it the responsibility and empowerment that is in each of our hands. And may we fully use the power of our actions, our decisions however small to build and heal ourselves, one another, and our planet. If we in the working world are conscious of this, we will be making a tremendous positive impact.

 This is a beautiful clip that talks about the opportunity we all have today to reset our mindset. To learn to coexist.

This challenge we see ourselves in, may truly give us the opportunity to learn to coexist, to develop the mindset and skills to care for and nurture our planet. To care for and nurture all that is life giving. May we all learn well.

With her focus on maximizing potential, Pearl helps leaders and teams discover their innate resources, leverage their strengths and enhance effectiveness.She truly believes in the power that the working world has to instil values and ways of working that are life giving. More than ever we are now called to equip ourselves and rise to this need.

She can be reached on [email protected]