MORE than a year after Covid-19 sent us home to isolate or to be socially distanced, it feels like the Universe is causing us to mope over what we can’t do. We cannot hug or kiss our friends. We cannot shake hands. We cannot step out on a whim. We cannot be…spontaneous.
Which makes us wonder: can we be happy during a pandemic? Can we find joy even at this very sad and low point in our lives?
I was recently struck by a message that Pope Francis supposedly wrote, expressing sentiments that should help dispel the sense of isolation we feel while on quarantine.
“Isolation is what the seriously ill are experiencing in the hospital. Stop saying that you are bored and upset that you cannot leave the house, while everyone in the hospital wants to go home. So thank God if you have to stay at home, because despite everything, with or without money, with or without a job, you are in the best place you could be: at home surrounded by who loves you.”
This led me to think that, indeed, despite all our perceived difficulties, the pain of losing friends and loved ones to a deadly disease, and the frustration we feel from the restrictions on our mobility, we must be thankful for the many blessings we can count. After all, we are still alive and well; there is a marked decline in Covid cases; and more of us are getting jabbed, giving us hope that this pandemic will soon end.
Simple, personal pleasures
Because health and wellness have become our primary concern, the following newly discovered habits help me focus on what is good.
I love to watch the sunrise from my window every single morning as I jump-start the day with my online mass. In the past, I rarely had the chance to go to weekday mass because my daily schedule would be taken over by business meetings and appointments. Today, a 30-minute mass before breakfast has become my regular morning routine—my “me-time” for meditation, reflection, and listening to God’s words. Believe me, prayers are the best way to start and end a day.
The luxury of being able to sleep straight for six to seven hours is most definitely a blessing because so many people I know find it difficult to sleep for various reasons. It is said that our health depends on the length and quality of our snooze time so I am grateful for my deep and restful sleep—and the pleasant dreams I often have. Dreams are free!
The frequent downtime likewise gives me time to sort out the fun and happy memories of my life. Going through the countless photographs, letters, souvenirs, cards, journals, and albums I have collected over the years, I indulge in the wonderfully refreshing feeling one gets from poring over memories.
Exercise is another must to maintain good health. While I used to attend Zumba and group fitness classes, I have cheerfully acquired the habit of following “Walk Walk Walk” guru Leslie Sansone on YouTube and sweating it out at 30- to 45-minute sessions.
Biking around our village is another fitness routine I resumed with my husband after last year’s series of lockdown—and what a fresh, exhilarating way to move around and feel the wind against my face (yes, even with a mask)! I am now excited to see the growing number of bikers (kids with their families) in our community, proof that a healthy active lifestyle can wean youngsters from their gadgets and gizmos.
Personally, here’s another wonderful outcome of “sheltering in place”: with the help of technology and some very updated apps, I am able to speak daily with my only sister who resides abroad. It is as if she and I were next-door neighbors!
I also enjoy regular chats with my high-school classmates living in other continents. We tracked each other down, reconnected, and reignited our long-dormant ties. It’s like magic! No longer stressed by full plates, we find time for what truly matters.
Business/work developments we can be thankful for
IN the realm of business and our former corporate environment, there is always reason to be happy and thankful. I simply gloss over the challenges and difficulties that some of my friends and colleagues whine about—and see the good side to every situation.
For instance, we may have relinquished our expansive office space, but remote work has given us more quality time for ourselves. We may miss the office wi-fi, the interaction with co-workers, the office equipment, and the centralized air-conditioning, but our WFH mode does away with the stress of rush-hour traffic. This gives us a little more time to sleep, a little more time to relax, and definitely a little more time for ourselves.
The pandemic has spurred us to switch to cashless payments and transactions, made possible by online banking and e-wallets such as GCash and PayMaya. Once reliant on check or cash payments, I have made online banking my new best friend. I learned how to view my accounts on my cell phone and use these to transfer funds. Finance payments are now made faster and simpler by depositing these directly in people’s accounts. It may have taken me time to adapt to the digital space but I enjoyed challenging my capacity to learn and gained a new skill set.
Countless opportunities to learn virtually
THE pandemic also presented myriad opportunities for everyone to learn, not only from online courses, seminars and webinars, but also from listening, reading, talking, and simply appreciating virtual events from the confines of one’s home. Without the need to be physically present or with no need to travel great distances, we could instantly hear mass at the Vatican with the Pope, view the live movement of penguins in Australia, watch a global concert of our favorite musical artists, and listen directly to fashion icon Anna Wintour in a Masterclass. These used to take so much time and resources to set up. But now the possibilities are endless.
Virtual press conferences and media interviews have become more efficient
HOW to hold press and media conferences initially posed the biggest challenge for many public relations practitioners at the start of the pandemic. How do we invite media to virtual media conferences or interviews? Won’t it pose technical glitches such as when the Wi-fi or gadgets or even the zoom connection refuse to cooperate? What about capturing the personality or the message of the person we want to introduce to the media? Won’t it be “lost in translation” somehow? What if the media does not show up?
As proven in the past year and a half, we in PR and Communications had to be doubly resilient and adaptive to changes. We had to innovate to improve previous practices. Despite recurring technical problems in our country, we managed to launch new products virtually, set up media events in a better organized manner, and enjoyed the support of our media friends. It was just a matter of ensuring that they always got newsworthy information and were provided with a credible source of new materials they could share with their readers. And in all cases, we made sure that they found a valid reason to spend their precious time with us.
In essence, the single common denominator for all the pleasures, the positive corporate practices, and the changes we listed above is simply…time. The availability of more time has allowed us to reassess, review, re-evaluate and restore a good balance to everything we had been too busy with prior to the pandemic. Time has given us the chance to improve ourselves now that we have adjusted to the restrictions and the “isolation.”
Time, which used to be our “enemy,” has turned into an ally and a true and constant friend. It just depends on how we use it.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premiere association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.