The NEW WAVE (be it 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc. I dread keeping count...) of coronavirus returns to haunt the nation, foiling attempts for a speedier recovery. Not that Covid-19 had retreated nor faded into thin air, but the last three months were within comfortable bounds of functioning normalcy for the country to recoup, refocus and rebuild. Now in the current, uncertainties loom deeper by the day as reported numbers reach new highs compared to that of March 2020 (https://ukkdosm.github.io/covid-19 ). I would have thought hardships and alarming pandemic anxieties experienced in the 1st MCO would be too fearfully embedded in our minds to ignore. Instead, it served nought as (campaigning related) inter-state travels resulted in Covid's furor resurgence at an infectivity level of R-naught (RO) 2.2 at end September 2020!
Arguments arise concerning efforts (or the lack of) on the part of the general public and the government's priorities in battling this plague of not just disease but also the people's dying livelihood. With each new outbreak, our limits are tested all-round in a frenzy mix of emotional, mental, financial and physical stress. Are we fortunate that crisis management measures were implemented soon enough? YES; but the quick-fix peeks a bleak future (albeit 'temporary' of an undefined time until a vaccine surfaces) of extended moratoriums, premature withdrawals of retirement funds (which authorities discourage), impeded education progress, disparity of income, curbed logistics and road arteries etc. the list builds. A tip of the iceberg survey with a sports coach, a businesswoman and a corporate manager all echo extreme worries of being susceptible to infection and yet, is not in favour of a 'stricter movement control / lockdown' but instead prefers the current much RELAXED MCO although for reasons inconsistent with that of the masses' relative to loss of income and faltering economies.
While we abled people debate on the calculated pros and cons of the varied-range-MCOs, what irks me is how WE (choose to?) downplay the emotional wellbeing of vulnerable citizens i.e. the aged population, those in compromised health, people of unique needs and our fearless #frontliners, by conveniently suggesting for them to live the life of an outcast, very closely resembling SELF-IMPRISONMENT! Have the aged not contributed to society already? Have the sickly and special needs not suffered plenty? Do our frontliners not deserve to be safely tucked in bed like the rest of us? I guess not because we (selfishly) strongly advise them to isolate, remain indoors, refrain from social contact and live lonely sad debilitated lives. Disobey, and one shall face being in the riskiest category of Covid-19 infection where punishment by death almost always awaits. In the latter case, practical realists rationalize it as 'part-of- life'. But why so? Is it because the vulnerable can no longer contribute nor fully function, that their time here is limited, thus justifying the hastened process of dying whatever the cause? Ah yes, not to forget that the number of accident victims and natural deaths is also comparatively higher, so what's another few hundred C-19 deaths right? (For those who can only appreciate visual reminders, do watch Season 4 of 'The Good Doctor' #frontliners episodes, and hopefully, learn how dying alone feels surrounded by EPI, crash carts and ventilators). Meanwhile, we live ours like it is our last 'coz.. HEY! We only live once!
I am but just one tiny being who shares, speaks and vent at best only with words of a blog. So come sundown and its dusky beauty, the space above offers comfort of hope for mankind still. The 6PM dates with SKY have become a ritual (for this I appreciate the current relaxed MCO) - we hold friendly chats, we build castles in the air, we sing along with spotify, we take the weirdest photos together and we pray; as we tread on common grounds in synching breaths of air.
Apart from Covid being familiar to all, 'SKY ' is the one constant universal factor connecting us across distance, time and migration borders. Her presence is permanent and undiminished, varying only in moods or filtered shades. Some days casts gloom, some days bring glare, but many though are days of radiating rainbow flares. Whatever the ambience, one can be confident that 'SKY' is always here and ever ready to share her dreamy clouds for positive reflection.
~ Ode to Sky ~
Oh, grateful eyes look to the sky!
Bright rays ashine and showering rains, nurturing fields of wheat and rye
That we may harvest and an abundance food, feeding all earthly lives and that of child Skye
Thy palms firmly pressed in joyful thanks, with adoring looks toward clouds a high
Blessed be the mortals who sow and farm, but beware, the magic of unseen fey
Their evil bear illness and fear, such hopelessness and grave betray
But worry not, as we seek solace under our ever loyal sky
Always present, always true, we share in embrace, you and I...
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A few of the many SKY IMAGES taken in the evenings in its many #shadesNsense
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