2020: The year the mask was removed

Yes… yes, that WAS the year you started wearing the mask.

But humanity? In 2020 our species finally, courageously, ceased to conceal and deny our insecurities.

Finally, in 2020 humanity began to admit that stress exists. That mental health issues are real. That medicine has limitations. That offices and expensive real estate are avoidable. That schooling systems can be re-examined. That most of what we have grown to accept as ‘the way it is done’ can be changed. 2020 signaled the renewal of entrepreneurship. Of family and caring. Of introspection and mindfulness (even if only about masks and sanitizers, to begin with). Of changing the man-made systems that have stopped serving us.

2020 demonstrated the power our individual will has on stopping the destruction of the planet. On saving the environment and the ecological balance. We have seen the blue skies and free dolphins and deer. But we have only just about scratched the surface of the reality. 

Within our species, there is strife. ‘’Black Lives Matter’’ unmasked one such conflict as millions stepped forward to call out division and injustice. But what about the lives of those humans who practically stand at the bottom of the human socio-economic chain, who underpinned our survival last year? The delivery persons, the garbage collectors, sewage inspectors, firefighters, and the medical support staff, to name a few? What have we done beyond sporadic lip service in praise of their courage?

How long will we continue to don the social mask and deny that we win the war because of these nails, which fasten the shoes to the horses we ride?

Can 2021 further unmask the pivotal role of these brave men and women?

Can we at least meet them midway and start becoming more participative and self-sufficient? 

Can we, for example, greet the delivery persons at our gates instead of expecting them to wait at our doors? 

Can we separate our organic and non-organic garbage and wash away stuck food from the foil trays before throwing them into the bags for non-organic trash?

Can we reduce the incidences of fire by living more mindfully?

Can we learn to self-regulate our health and lifestyle, so we do not weigh the medical system down with avoidable conditions?

Can we start to resolve to be more appreciative, more helpful, more grateful all around?

If we can take this step towards our common humanity, we will unveil the power of individual consumer choice on reshaping global economies and political structures.

We will stop being masked behind outward-facing gadgets, tools, and social conditioning and start developing a more robust human connection. We will begin mending our oneness with nature and bring ourselves to become a part of it, the way we were designed. We will stop thinking of progress as our ability to replace ourselves and instead think of it as our ability to restore pristine natural balance.

Let the unmasking continue....