Welcoming New Year with a Flu

I am writing this entry with a mind full of thoughts about work and ministry. I also have a runny nose. Yes, I am one of those whose immune systems gave up because of the changing weather and hopefully not because of the Omicron variant. 

It's sad how many Filipinos welcomed the year with flu. Though we have made it a laughing matter that many are queueing at drugstores for paracetamols and cough syrups, it is also an unfortunate indication of how our lives are heavily dependent on social media and its hype. Opportunists hoard supplies and try to manipulate market prices. The vulnerable masses end up victimized by panic and fear due to the sensationalized news they see in media. What a sad reality.

Forgive me for opening this post with a social commentary. For the past month, I wasn't able to post anything online but a few "noise" and seasons greetings. At least in the past month, before we changed our calendars to 2022, we Filipinos had a taste of 'normalcy'. Streets were lively once again, children had fun at malls, cinemas were opened, and bazaars sprung up left and right. A glimmer of hope - because for the past two years restrictions were brought to a minimum, and COVID cases were low.

But when the new year came, triggered by the perennial flu season, cases surge once more and restrictions were once again implemented. We're like children who after a few moments of happily enjoying the time of our lives playing outside, were asked to go home. Bad trip. Tapos nagkasakit pa. All along I thought I can already watch Spiderman NWH on the big screen. I guess I still have to wait a little longer. Haha!

I don't want to make this post sound too negative. I still look forward to a happy new year despite the pandemic. Life goes on, and so should we. We all have shed buckets of tears trying to make sense of our plight since 2020, and now is the year of acceptance. We need to embrace that in the grand scheme of things, we are not in charge. What we can do instead is to make sure that we are living our lives to the fullest, using and enjoying everything we have at our disposal. 

Talking about being sick in the first week of 2022, I found out that I have a lot of acquaintances, churchmates, and officemates experiencing the same predicament. Banks are having difficulty engaging with their clients because of limited manpower. Clinics too, have to delay some laboratory results because they are short-staffed. What's happening with the world? But at least it made me realize an important thing:

Health is wealth. It may sound cliche but nothing is as important as having healthy lungs to breathe air, an appetite to enjoy food, and a positive outlook to continue living. We can all desire to earn more and accumulate more but health must never be compromised in exchange for the former. Let's take care of our bodies. We can enjoy the fruits of our labor when our bodies are in good shape and our minds are healthy. 

Good thing I'll be on a work-from-home set-up due to my status. I wish I could say the same for everyone who experiences the same predicament as I have. I hope this will be the last time I'll experience this, because having flu amid coronavirus scare is no joke. It makes us feel paranoid. It makes us sensitive.

Before I formally end this rumination piece, allow me to greet you all with a Blessed New Year! May this post find you in the pink of health. Ciao!