We are all not in the same boat, but in the same storm
The first wave of Covid19 made famous a poem-
"I heard that we are all in the same boat.
But it's not like that.
We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.
Your ship can be shipwrecked and mine might not be.
Or vice versa.
For some, quarantine is optimal: a momemnt of reflection, or reconnection.
Easy in flip flops, with whisky or tea.
For other, this is a desperate financial and family crisis.
For some, peace, rest time, vacation.
Yet for others, torture: How am I going to pay my bills?
So, we are not in the same boat.
We are going through a time when our preception and needs are completely different.
And each one of us will emerge, in their own way, from that storm.
Do not judge the good life of the other, do not condemn the bad life of other.
We are all on different ships during this storm, looking to survive.
We experiencing a very different journey.
Let everyone navigate their route with respect, empathy and responsibility."
Anonymous
We all are living in the same world, we face the same storm at times. But our boats are different, the means, the methods, and the capabilities differ from one individual to another.
In this essay, we shall steer through the storm. We shall look into a new perspective and reach a positive conclusion.
We can say that freedom, liberty, and rules/law are the same for everyone. But each individual has a different capacity to utilize these. As Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has bought into light, even if you make a man free, he can only utilize it if he has the capability to do it.
Let us take the reservation system, it equally applies to all, but only those who are privileged and aware are exploiting it to suit their needs.
Many queers and transgenders face humiliation and hatred, but few find a welcoming circle and home, and a few are forced to live in homes that are not physically and mentally safe for them.
CAA is the same storm for us all, but different communities reached it differently because they are affected by it differently and are in a different boat.
With the need and rise in online education, the need for internet facilities has come to it forefront. The syllabus is the same for all children, and the content delivered in online classes will be similar. But the internet connection, the device used for online class is different, making their boats differ. Some students are at home with their families. They may be struggling to access online classes with no device or internet. Some students may be serving as caregivers for at-risk or aging parents and other relatives. Some might have given up and turned into labor.
Additionally, some types of work, class content, and learning styles are inherently easier to transfer to digital mediums. Wet-lab research, fieldwork, and hands-on techniques are difficult or impossible to do remotely.
Finance:
The depression, economic crisis, and market crash storms are the same for all. But it will have a different impact on salaried individuals, pensioners, unemployed, and developed and developing countries.
Healthcare:
Let us take the recent example of Covid-19. The pandemic storm is the same for all. Those who had social capital, wealth, status and connections could find oxygen and hospital beds much easier than a farmer. People with chronic health conditions are stuck at home suffering from a lack of supplies.
Economy:
Formal workers may be finding ways to share their space and resources to work from home.
A large section of our country, about 90%, works in the informal sector. This sector does not provide any kind of benefits to their employees, whether it is social security or health insurance, This is the story of every middle-class house that lives in cities and has a hob or runs a small shop. They get a salary or income in the bracket of ₹ 8000-12000 more or less a month. Because of the lockdown, several businesses have been damaged, many people have been fired from their jobs, and many are going to work but are not getting their full salaries.
The hard-working laborers of the country who earn just enough to eat that day, are counting days because every day is much harder than the previous one. They may have thought that the lockdown is a matter of a few days and then the situation will improve but it has not happened. It has deteriorated abnormally. Hunger has become their primary concern. When they are struggling from meal to meal, they don’t see many options to stay positive but to be with their family. For many, it may mean walking or cycling hundreds of kilometers in this unbearable heat.
Be it wars, be it economic policies, be it trade wars, cybercrime, or climate deals. The storm is the same for the whole world. But the boats of developed and developing countries with different capacities to face these issues.
Steering through the storm
The storm can bring down any huge ship, once we are in the water, we should not be afraid to drown. The only way we can become pro sailors is by embracing the storm and not being afraid to drown.
Once we embrace our differences and our diversities we recognize and identify what needs to be done and we work on it and overcome the challenges.
New perspective
Spirituality we believe that the force and engine that drives us all is one and the same. Advaitha’s philosophy supports this stand that jeevatma and Parramatta are one and the same. All living and non-living things in the world are made up of one and the same force.
Conclusion
Inequality is natural. No two boats can be the same. No two individuals can be similar. Even twins differ because the exposure and experience of each individual which shapes their boats is different. Even in nature, no twin butterflies share the same wing patterns.
"It is not the difference in our boats that matters, when a boats gets struck, helping it to repair or bringing its inhabitants onboard is what truly matters."
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