37: After the Storm

2020 started very differently for me. Unlike any of its preceding years, this year started with me being jobless after 29 years of having a dream job. My spirits were still high, friends and well-wishers told me that my experience and expertise would land me a job and a better one in no time. I recall people wished me double of everything since it was 20-20. In the background was the news of a ‘Novel Virus’ in China; however, I hadn’t a doubt that people were farfetched, and it wouldn’t affect us in my part to of the world. I was wrong. So very wrong!

The virus spread rampantly, and people around me started losing jobs. Companies went bust, and it was a time like no other; we see such things in the movies but never thought that we would experience it in our lifetime.

I recall back in January; I was so desperate to get a job. Then in March came the lockdown and everything was at a standstill. Out of no choice, I put my job search in the back seat as no one was hiring due to uncertainty in every industry. I cannot explain, but this led to so much inner peace. It was a time of self-realization for me. After the prior few months of desperation, it felt so nice not to be looking for something or getting up every morning in anticipation of getting a phone call from a recruiter.

With my mind more at rest, I realized that I was now spending more quality time with my family for the first time in 29 years of being a career woman. There were many other firsts in2020: we had family lunches together, I cooked for them, we worked out together from YouTube, we played board games and binge-watched movies. My youngest daughter even confessed that she was praying that I don’t get a job as she was loving me being home. 2020 was undoubtedly a blessed year for me as by God’s grace we managed to get by. I experienced what it was to be a homemaker and really liked it, but of course, it’s time to get back to my career this year. I think now even my kids want me to get out of their faces….lol.

During the lockdown, and the novelness of Covid, there were bush fires, and many animals lost their lives and habitats. These two events were all that was on the news channels. During this time, I wrote a little poem on 16 March 2020. It’s about hope in times of despair, anticipation of good news in troubled times and about coming together to help each other, and this is all that matters. I named my poem ‘After’ (btw, I’m not a writer and this poem is exactly how I felt, I just penned my thoughts as is)

After

After every storm there is peace and quiet.

People stay confined to their homes. Animals retreat to their shelters.

This is a period of reflection and eliminating all the bad in your lives. Rethinking and soul searching. Eliminating all unnecessary and trivial worries and tasks.

After the storm is over, there is new life, new beginnings. There is purification of all things. Just like a bushfire burns everything in its path, it chars everything and there seems no hope. But then nature sends rains and renews all.

After all the ruins, what withered away turned to ashes, the remains now nourish the land. New shoots sprout bringing new hope and aura. The shoots are greener and more luscious. The flowers are brighter and fuller. So, nothing is in vain. It’s all part of the plan.

Mankind is part of the same plan. We keep our trust in the Lord’s prudence and all things will be renewed and we can hope for newness and freshness after Covid-19

As for all those who perished amidst the recent adversities, let it not be in vain. Let us nourish our lives with kindness, love and respect to Mother Nature, Mother Earth and all its inhabitants and bring forth newness and goodness for the future generations.

So, After Covid-19, all will be renewed and new lessons will be learned. There will be a fresh outlook, and all will be good again.

By Jennifer Manoel

16 March 2020 (Year of Covid 19)

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