Covid has taught us to be simple in our life

Complaining has never solved a problem. It only creates negativity, which is something we don't need

It was 42 years ago in August 1978 when Barry Gibb wrote the song "Grease is the word". It was  performed by Frankie Valli and featured John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in the famous movie Grease. I think 're' is the word nowadays - a prefix that has been most used this year. Reinvent, recreate, recycle, rethink, re-evaluate..the list goes on. Some are dictionary words and some just invented to suit a purpose. Re-everything is the need of the hour. When times are unprecedented, our actions and thoughts also need to be.
Now it is all about survival of the most adaptive, thanks to Covid-19. Work from home which would not have been accepted by most offices, has been the norm this year. Schools and colleges conducting studies and exams online is the way this year. Retail is down in the dumps for obvious reasons, but online shopping is thriving. E-commerce has almost replaced traditional means of commerce.
There are some interesting lessons we can learn from this Covid era. First, never say never! We are doing all the things we thought we would never do or say. Remember when our parents said that we would never miss school. Well, guess what, schools closed their gates. The punctual person who boasted that he was never late for office has nothing to boast about now because the offices instruct you to work from home. The finicky shopper who said she had to go and shop physically and can never shop online is now browsing online sites. The examples of how our life has been impacted are several. In fact we have to really think of something that we used to do and can still do.
Necessity is the mother of invention, how true is that for this year. How seamlessly, meetings are being conducted on Zoom and such platforms. The board rooms are empty, but business is still going on (though slow). Home-cooked food is ruling the roost while the restaurants have either shut down or are hardly occupied. How we have evolved and adapted this year has been amazing. We can surely pat our backs.
What is remarkable is how Covid has taught us to be simple in our life. It is sad though that we needed such a calamity to make us appreciate the simple pleasures of life. Now a family meal, a coffee with a friend, a walk in the park, a hugging a loved one has become a rarity and much treasured. We had the time to look at the photo albums that were gathering dust, enjoy our childhood and wedding videos buried somewhere, call up an aunt/uncle whom we hadn't spoken for years and done some amazing things that we would not have done in our otherwise super busy life. Humans are known to survive and adapt. No other year in the history of our evolution has proved this more than the present one. Instead of BC and AD, it seems we are living in the pre-Covid and Covid era, can't say post because we haven't got past it yet.
It is wonderful to see how people have become so innovative. I saw a video of a 94-year-old lady selling delicious sweets online. She was born in the World War 1 aftermath. So many housewives are honed their talents and have ventured online, be it cooking, baking, painting or stitching. Many young people have started small online business serving a crucial need of the hour. 
What we focus on we amplify, says the law of attraction. There is enough bad, sad, factual and exaggerated news on Covid. This may be the time to focus on what we can do and not what is beyond our control. We are living in a force majeure period, a fact we cannot deny. Yet in this state what are our options? This is the time to explore those. Complaining has never solved any problem. In fact, it only creates negativity, which is something we don't need at this time.
The serenity prayer though old and often quoted seems to be so apt now. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
I wonder if we could re-boot the year 2020? It has a virus. 
Shilpa Bhasin Mehra is a legal consultant based in Dubai and the founder of Legal Connect