“Just as the lotus blooms from mud and water, humanity can also grow and flourish from crises.”

Venerable Phra Methivachirodom (V. Vajiramedhi) is a renowned thinker, writer, and social developer, the director of the International Vipassana Center at Rai Chien Tawan, and the UNHCR PATRON. He shares a creative article inviting the global community to view the COVID-19 crisis as a golden opportunity for humanity in nine aspects, as follows:

John F. Kennedy once said, “In Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters: one represents ‘danger’ (危) and the other represents ‘opportunity’ (机).” If we believe this statement, the crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus should come with some opportunities. Here are the opportunities that the author perceives and invites us to explore together from this crisis from different perspectives:

1. The United Nations: This is an opportunity for this global organization to act as a mediator in seeking cooperation from world leaders, governments, global organizations, doctors, scientists, and leading intellectuals worldwide to collaboratively study, research, and develop medical supplies and seek sustainable solutions beyond immediate remedies, guiding humanity out of the first global crisis of the 21st century that affects almost every region of the world.

2. Governments of all countries: This is an opportunity for government leaders to demonstrate their leadership in managing the country during a crisis. There is no better chance for you to show your constituents that you are capable of governing than now. If you can lead the nation through this crisis effectively and sustainably, you will likely return as a leader in the next election. However, if you merely follow the system without any innovation in effective governance, you will have missed the opportunity to make history in future leadership.

3. Politicians from all parties: This is your chance to showcase your vision in serving the public to the best of your ability. You should set aside personal conflicts, group interests, and divisive feelings, and unite to harness your intellectual potential to serve the public as they expect from you.

4. Billionaires, businesspeople, investors, and the elite: This is your opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility in your business sector. Temporarily set aside your business mindset and step forward with a human heart that empathizes with fellow beings, the nation, and the people. Hospitals everywhere need your sustainable solutions in knowledge, funding, technology, and professional personnel more than mere CSR activities. Philanthropic billionaires and kind-hearted investors should dissolve business factions and use their bodhisattva-like consciousness to serve humanity, joining together to heal the crisis of humanity.

5. Medical professionals, nurses, and public health personnel: This is your opportunity to showcase your professionalism as well-trained specialists. This is the golden moment to serve the public with a heart full of public consciousness. It is a time for merit-making to elevate the heart, as the saying goes, “The value of a person depends on their ability to humbly serve others; the more one serves, the greater the value of life.”

6. Artists, celebrities, and influential figures with high social capital: This is a significant opportunity for you to give back to the public who admire you, who have supported you through your performances, songs, and artistic creations. You can express your gratitude to your fans by “turning fame into good deeds” or “transforming reputation into encouragement and funding for research, purchasing medical equipment, and distributing masks to the public.”

7. Media, intellectuals, thinkers, and writers: This is your opportunity to demonstrate professionalism in communication and analytical thinking to find solutions for society, the nation, and humanity. Use your sharp potential to communicate creatively, providing accurate, truthful knowledge to the public, minimizing the role and influence of fake news and public anxiety.

8. Spiritual leaders and followers of all religions: This is a golden opportunity to bring the teachings of the revered masters we all respect into practice in the real world. The arrival of the COVID-19 virus challenges all of us, as followers of various religions, to bring forth the best, most beautiful, and noble aspects of our faiths to collaboratively heal the crisis. In other words, this is truly a time for Compassion in Action.

9. Individuals, families, nature, the environment, tourist destinations, and all industries: This is the opportunity for the greatest self-restoration in the history of humanity, the environment, the land, the sky, the forests, the mountains, the waters, and the air. Since various processes were forced to halt due to the virus under the concept of “together we perish, apart we survive,” nature, the environment, tourist destinations, air, and water have been rejuvenated immediately. The air in Beijing has improved remarkably, the waters in Venice have cleared, and the seas in Thailand are crystal clear. Rural parents worldwide have regained precious time with their children, and even individuals have had the chance to stay home and enjoy their time fully.

When a crisis arises, if we only surrender, despair and hopelessness will follow, making it hard to see a way forward. However, if we change our approach to facing the crisis with a creative perspective, we will see opportunities everywhere. Let us all learn to shift our views on crises, learning to see how to benefit from them as opportunities for ourselves, our organizations, our countries, and humanity as a whole, leading us toward peace and mutual harmony.

We cannot change certain situations to our liking, but we can change our perspective on them, and we can do so immediately, here and now. Just as the lotus blooms from mud and water, humanity can also grow and develop from crises.

Story and images: Venerable Phra Methivachirodom (V. Vajiramedhi)

SOURCE: www.goodlifeupdate.com