If there's one thing that this Pandemic has taught us, it is to embrace the stillness. To be present.
Life teaches us about what is essential versus what is luxury or leisure.
Life teaches us to embrace individual uniqueness and societal differences.
Life teaches us to be alone, lost, and regain ourselves.
What would happen if you got stuck on an Island. How would you imagine living?
There are no convenience stores, cellular phone signals, or internet.
You only have basic survival needs and equipment; tents, hammocks, cooking utensils, and just enough food good for two days.
I dared! I trekked a muddy road less traveled back in 2015. And my destination was the Island Province of Guimaras in the Philippines.
In just two days, I enjoyed the serenity of the place away from the people. The water was clear, and I jumped off a cliff. That was a safe jump rather than a risky dive I never dared. And I survived!
Now I'm living in the present. I am thinking about the time in our lives when we go on an adventure of a lifetime. There's no attachment to things and people. And the absence of one of the most essential things today -- getting online and social media.
Today, during this time of Pandemic and social isolation, our connection to the online world is our most important survival tool. We go online for news updates which sometimes can be toxic and causes sadness, loneliness, and grief. If there's no internet and social media in the present time, how would we live everyday life?
Our survival tool in the new best normal is connecting to the online world. For most of us, being offline is not alive since, nowadays, everybody seems to go digital, going online to communicate with coworkers, families, friends, and special loved ones.
I learned to be detached and offline, even for a short while. To go on social media detox. Honestly, I have lived in that present moment, living in stillness. That adventure taught me a lesson about basic survival skills and survival when the most essential thing is out of reach even for a while.
The next Pandemic may come in our time, and how we prepare for the worst is essential for survival.
To be stuck in an Island Paradise is just one learning experience that I have benefited from in the present times and the next crisis.
And today, we can always learn not to just survive. But, just be alive.
© 2020 Del Cusay
