A Silver Lining in Corona Pandemic

When ever someone says "Let's watch a movie", my genre of preference was always horror/disaster. Of cause how I watched the movie is a different story.
Over the years I have mastered the skill of watching, with one eye open to watching through the eyes of the one seated next to me, or since lately with my spectacles removed with my almost impaired eyesight. 

At first Corona aka COVID19 was a horror to me! 

A living nightmare in which my loved ones and the whole society is fighting an invisible enemy!

A pandemic led by an army of viruses - a thought that never crossed my mind back in the day at Prof. Bandara's Microbiology class or in Prof. Devika's Plant Pathology class

Never in my wildest dreams I thought that I will have to live through a pandemic myself.

Here, I thought to pen the other side of the COVID19 pandemic - a silver lining which I saw

in these otherwise dark days. 

On an ordinary day, my life swing between work, a different kind of a work, and other work. COVID19 locked me down and pinned me to an unfamiliar lifestyle. The first few weeks was hard. It was hard to stop thinking of the field trials that will fail, the plants in greenhouse that would die, the dreadful thoughts of a current failure at the lab, marker assays waiting to be done, the deadlines approaching, and the inability to finish my lectures. At home-front it was even more scary, with my loved ones living all over Sri Lanka and all over the world, not knowing what is yet to come, and if they will be safe or not. The thoughts of food shortages that loom around the corner, a little illness of a family member now a concern, safety of a community that goes beyond my control, these haunted me as Corona started to travel from Wuhan to one country after another. Its been nearly a month since we started social distancing. Now I have come to conquer my fears thinking there is always an option, and if not at least a silver line even in the darkest of the moments. 

We evolve with the challenges put forth upon us. We learn how much family and loved ones mean to us. Though we were always connected, there are more conversations between my family from where ever they are irrespective of the time zones since COVID19. A 101 messages to read on my phone as I getup in the morning of conversations that occurred between my friends living across the globe, and humiliating school and uni time photos posted on FB making me remember who I once were, as I went down the memory lane. I feel that COVID19 brought my loved ones more closer, each of us to appreciate the other and more importantly realize how precious life is and how fragile life is. 

Work has often put us off balance. I feel it is not only the nature recovering with minimal human activities, even we ourselves are recovering. I enjoy writing and reading, rarely now I have time unless its important for my teaching or research. I wish it was not, but truth is I have a rack full of Micheal Crichton and no time to finish. Until COVID19, I barely found time to enjoy a book, read it at a stretch like i'm in a reading marathon or watch a movie. COVID made me cook everything at home and even plant what I might need in my otherwise weed garden backyard. Water the plants in the absence of the monsoon rains, which if not for COVID is usually teased as another one of my drought experiments. Though I was not tested for COVID19 yet it failed not to give me a reality check.

Like the saying  "the show must go on", Corona or not the teaching and research must go on. I realized that COVID can't stop us from the things we love doing. Rather than giving up I improvised or turned to technology. Zoomed with my students to discuss work and prepared material for the most anticipated beginning of academic work with eLearning. I enjoy the time  with Guilders, guiding them in initiating projects for the community in this hour of need. Everyday, I see the enthusiasm and creativity of my students, just as if I was working with them one-on-one like before Corona. In my little ways I must say these little things have shown me that if there is a will there is a way always - that was the turning point for me. 

I'm no longer haunted by Corona taking over my life. I feel Corona brought the balance I needed in my life and the optimism I needed. Yes, safety of my loved ones and humanity at large is an alarming concern to me, especially as a scientist who understands the risk of a pandemic of this nature in a society that takes what-may-come lightly at times.

But, I know I'm blessed to be where I am, 

to be able to breath for the sake of myself and the others to whom I matter. 

I have hope that we will see to an end of this soon and 

when it does I know I have the strength to bounce back

that's the message I wish to leave with you on my entree in 

Biology Guild's Corona Diaries

Hope all of you can master the skills needed to face the unseen enemy 

Keep COVID19 away and stay safe

Dimanthi Jayatilake