This is how the world ends

A long time ago, when I was still little, I don’t remember exactly how my older brother collided head-on with a car, and a faulty seat belt allowed it to hit me on the dashboard. The result: a deviated nose septum has been with me ever since. At fifteen, my dog threw me on the edge of a marble step, and you can still see the scar today. At twentyfour, my thyroid was burned with radioactive iodine because it had gone crazy. At thirty-one, I injured my knee in a downright stupid accident. And probably, if I did a more exhaustive count, I would find more scars to add to the list.

All these scars have something in common, they are tangible. Most can be touched, and all can be seen in one way or another. However, after this pandemic, all of us would have to count one more scar to whatever we carry: the scar of the pandemic. This type of scar is much more complex than we may think; it made us question our purpose in life and made us realize that no matter how much we like to evade at work, hedonism, or wherever we like the most, in the end, we all have the same fate: death.

This pandemic showed that people abhor confinement because while alone, they cannot help but ask themselves the big questions and see how they have made the wrong decisions in many cases.

One way or another, we’ve all been through the same thing: I see that I’m going to die, I realize that I’m fragile and that many of the decisions I’ve made don’t make me happy or a better person. How many people do you know who realized they are lousy parents? How many realized that their marriage is a farce? And some discover that their life work is meaningless, that they are empty from more yoga, religion, fitness, and rescued puppies that occupy their day. If you don’t believe me, remember the “big resignation” and check out the statistics on divorces, suicides, and domestic violence.

It’s as T.S. Elliot pointed out in his poem. "The Hollow Men”:

I won’t say whether this pandemic was good or bad because it’s an amoral, cyclical phenomenon that had happened even before our ancestors slept on tree branches. But if there is anything positive in all of these, it is a profound reflection on who we are and our priorities. Seeing the invisible scars left us working to have a more harmonious life, being consistent with ourselves, liking ourselves before others, and having the courage to live to do what we are truly meant to do in this life.

If we lived this way, we would truly value the brief time we have been given in this world. Our invisible scars would make us much stronger, and the next time “the old grim reaper” looks us in the eye, we would have the serenity to return a smile full of satisfaction.