There’s this neat graphic that’s being forwarded around in social media feeds. The key question it asks is, “Who do I want to be during COVID-19?” And in answer to that question, it posit that there are four ways of being, or “zones”, during this pandemic:
? Fear zone - grabbing toilet paper, spread panic, anger.
? Learning zone - evaluate info before sharing, we’re all trying to do our best, identify emotions, control what I can.
? Growth zone - think of others and help them, empathy for myself and others, spread hope, practice patience.
??♂️ Action zone - make art, disrupt capitalism, feed poor, care for sick, support farmers, break up monopolies.
This framework helped me put things into perspective very well. Not just as a mirror to my inner world right now, but also a way to understand the behaviours of others in this pandemic.
The ones whom we laugh and jeer at for stockpiling toilet paper? They are totally in the Fear zone. The ones quietly pressing on, trying to maintain some form of normalcy? Learning zone. I’m now working with many volunteers who are putting themselves out there, at risk of exposure, to help others – the elderly, migrant workers. These folks are in the Growth zone. And then there are some who are in the Action zone, trying to influence change at the highest levels of policy, narratives and ideas. These might be writers (note I didn’t say journalists), policy-makers, and advocacy groups.
For me? Most days now, I’m trying to occupy my time meaningful, by acting somewhere in the Growth and Action zone. It’s a crazy productive month for me, but without financial gain. Everything that I throw myself into had been not-for-profit, to help people. Anyone. F&B owners who had been badly affected by the cessation of all dine-in activities. Migrant workers who are now badly exposed to the virus in the poor living conditions of their dormitories. Freelancers and self-employed folks who saw their income jump off a cliff to zero with the lockdown. Or just any normal person. It’s like we’re all in this same boat, and helping you means I’m also helping myself. It’s not all altruistic and selfless.
I wonder, how can we get more people into at least the second zone, if not the third or fourth? When that happens, nothing shall stop us.
Not even the plague.