It is tempting to describe 2020 as an annus horribilis – a horrible, dreadful year – with much justification. So many lives lost, livelihoods destroyed, plans disrupted, economies in free-fall, the sense of being imprisoned, the damage to mental and physical health. So many things that we had always taken for granted suddenly became uncertainties. Amidst the vortex of emotions many experienced with the lockdown, it would have been easy to slip into acedia.
But human beings are nothing if not creatures who readily adapt. Amidst the dark, foreboding clouds, we discovered so many silver linings. There was Netflix, of course, but we quickly harnessed technology to our advantage in other ways. We came to realise that trekking daily to our workplace, with all its travails, was probably no longer essential. We could work just as easily, and in some instances better, from our homes. But we also soon found out that we had a need for the human contact of our colleagues that the computer screen could not provide.
We saw humanity at its kindest and very best. Our healthcare workers toiled, risking their lives to treat Covid patients, often without much regard for their own safety. The pictures of creased faces, tired eyes and haggard looks, told a story without the need for words. Many lost their lives, as did priests in some countries who died after having contracted the virus following the administration of last rites to dying patients.
We took up new challenges that we had kept putting off and discovered some hidden talents. This writer started to indulge in art again, for the first time since school days. He also baked again. Though not the best, the bread and apple crumble were probably better than those at some shops.
Florists were closed during the early days of the pandemic but this did not stop me from indulging in my hobby of floral arrangement. I used flowers from the garden instead of buying them from the florist, as I would have normally done. Items were foraged from wild flora that grew by the roadside and added to those provided by kind neighbours for the arrangements which were just as good.
It was our cancelled overseas holidays to visit the children that had the most impact on my wife and me. Fortunately, no bookings had been made. Instead, we resorted to day trips to small towns that we had not visited for ages. These were towns that had been by-passed after the North-South Highway was constructed. Few took the trouble to visit them unless there was a reason.
Our trip to Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB), which I cannot recall previously visiting, was a revelation. What struck me was the tranquillity this small town afforded, after the helter-skelter of Kuala Lumpur. Parking was free and easily available. There is a historic pre-war clock tower and the colonial fire station building that now houses an information centre. The Sungai Selangor dam outside the town was a scenic delight. Lunch at a traditional kopitiam consisted of a delicious chicken chop and fried rice at prices we could only dream of in Kuala Lumpur. A pastry shop, apparently well-known to many, sold a delicate kaya puff, the best that I had ever tasted.
But the most exciting discovery was the street art. Many of us are familiar with the street art in Penang and off Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur. But I least expected it in places like KKB and Tanjung Malim. It is to be hoped that more local authorities will commission murals in other small towns, which not only add to their attraction but also provide employment to the artists whose income is always uncertain.
So, silver linings were aplenty during the year. For a little while at least, our environment became cleaner. And as 2020 ends, there are lessons to be learnt but we have cause to be hopeful. There is a light at the end of the dark tunnel in the form of a vaccine. We have learnt yet again that the human spirit endures, indeed thrives, in adversity. And who knows, we may emerge from this crisis, stronger and more resilient.
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