Our Way Forward: Turning the last 18 months of COVID-19 into a thriving society
In the last days before COVID-19 put the world on hold (February and March of 2020), I had the honor of being in Jordan, right by the Dead Sea, co-facilitating a humanitarian leadership seminar for those working in conflict and post-conflict settings across the globe. As the news about the pandemic and potential lockdown had been increasing throughout the workshop, being the experienced humanitarian leaders that they were, some of the participants began to construct ‘what if’ scenarios. I remeber clearly a deep and forward-thinking conversation about the potential unintended consequences of COVID on the vulnerable populations of all continents — a discussion about domestic violence, drug use, mental health issues, and many other complications — and what it would take to respond to these potential crises in the short and long-term. It was a prescient conversation of what was to come.
Having now experienced this collective global trauma, though it impacted us all quite differently, it is a shared, unique and unanticipated moment, unlike any other in our lifetime. We now have the opportunity to reflect on and perhaps change ourselves on an individual as well as a societal level. If we harness it, the pandemic has the power to be the biggest influx of transformational energy we have ever known. Hundreds of millions of people are pausing to dive deep into questions about life, purpose, and our collective future. This moment is a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring us all to a greater understanding of our interconnectedness as human beings living in a shared world.
We each have an extended moment in time where we can choose to transform ourselves, our communities and our world, into a future based on equity, human rights and justice. How can we seize this opportunity to accelerate change and collaboration and supercharge deeper civic engagement so we can fortify for what comes next?
Each of us, individually and collectively, has the chance to ask: ‘When the busy-ness of everyday life is halted… who am I really?’; ‘Who did I want to be?’; ‘How can I live a fulfilling life in the midst of crises?’; ‘What kind of interior and exterior work is required to thrive?’; ‘How do I want the world to look after we overcome this pandemic (potentially years, given the global inequality in vaccine access)?’; ‘Who will I be and what will I do if my health or my livelihood, or the health or livelihood of my loved ones is compromised?’; ‘If I am healthy, and if I have the continued privilege of being healthy, how can I best be of service at this time?’; and ‘What is the purpose of my life now?’
These are not easy questions to ask, especially when we look at the reality around us. Our social systems, locally and globally, are under massive pressure, many unable to deliver critical services. We are losing souls, not only to COVID, but also to the unintended consequences left in its wake. According to the CDC, adults in the U.S. reported significantly elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19 — especially younger adults, racial and ethnic minorities, essential workers, and unpaid adult caregivers. With our educational and social service systems under pressure, access to mental health services often based on socioeconomic status, and the general lack of empathy and increased focus on self, the people with the greatest needs often lack the support systems and tools to cope with these new and dangerous challenges. This increase in mental health needs paired with an overburdened mental health system often leads to an increase in substance abuse. This has become all too clear as: overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 in 2020, as the U.S. government reported. For many, staying at home is just an inconvenience, but for those with no home , or those for whom “home” means living with an abuser, this is a matter of life and death. Calls to domestic violence helplines have soared since lockdowns started as incidents of domestic violence increased by 25% in Argentina, 30% in Cyprus, 33% in Singapore and 50% in Brazil. The unintended consequences of COVID abound.
Source: CDC.gov
The long-term consequences of COVID-19 will live on as an indefinite burden on future generations — on our young people — and they are already one of the populations most affected. According to UNICEF, an additional 140 million children in developing countries are projected to live below the poverty line as a direct result of the pandemic. Just think about education alone — children all over the world had to learn from home with most having no access to learning materials and technology, to social situations, to peer-to-peer interactions or to group work. To overcome these global challenges, we need nothing less than a global effort, a global commitment that starts with each and every one of us deciding to be our very best selves. We need to invest all we can, from any perspective we can, in our young people.
Source: UNICEF
When you sit and read the news and think, “what can I do?”, it’s important to realize that now, like never before, there is a powerful social energy that we must tap into. The situations that lead to the most incredible transformations often occur during and immediately after life-threatening moments. We, as a society, have been going through a collective near-death experience. A moment like this calls for deeper reflection — on a global level — on topics ranging from social hierarchies and economic systems, to the accessibility of healthcare and the preservation of our beloved environment. The climate crisis is one of the clearest demonstrations of our collective interdependence, but we must embrace the interconnectedness!
The key component to answering “but where do I start?” is a critical self-reflection. If we all did it, we would be in the midst of a major societal transformation. The core of discovery can start by asking one seemingly simple question: “What did I learn about myself, others, and my community in the last 18 months? Some helpful follow-up questions could be: ”If I were to pass (now, or later, from COVID or any of its unintended consequences), what would I want my legacy to be? And what, then, is my commitment to societal change or support or preparation? How can I be part of rebuilding stronger local and global communities? How do I urgently accelerate change and support collaborative and deeper civic engagement?”.
Imagine, how much could be achieved, if we got crystal clear on what we were hoping to leave behind. Imagine the positive global impact, if we use this collective moment to truly invest our time, energy and support in our young leaders. We could help foster tens of thousands of compassionate, results-driven, people-oriented youth to lead us forward in tackling the world’s greatest challenges. This pandemic clearly showed us that our social, economical and political structures are not sufficient to meet the known, and unknown, challenges of the future. What will happen when climate change brings us more and more unknown challenges in the coming years? But if governments, foundations, and local NGOs tap into the creative and compassionate energy of youth, and nourish and cultivate their abilities and passions, we can collectively overcome the divisions and major obstacles of the future through empathy, innovation, and leadership. It really is up to us. We can choose to transform ourselves, our communities, and our world, and really thrive. History is mainly made by people’s choices (individual, societal and global choices). It’s not some mystical force advancing or receding. The mystical force lies within you. Within us. We have the power to choose too. We have the power to choose what impact we will have with our one little life: we choose to either react and respond to it, or we choose to actively, powerfully, and fully transform it.
