{"id":3793,"date":"2020-04-22T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T23:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/?p=3793"},"modified":"2024-05-28T16:09:34","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T09:09:34","slug":"reflections-from-a-quarantined-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/story\/3793\/reflections-from-a-quarantined-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections from a quarantined world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We hit the \u201cpause\u201d button on 2020.  While the world is currently in a state of shock and isolation, this whole experience has made me think about the simpler times of my youth. <\/p>\n\n

\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Paul Hilton<\/div>class=”wp-block-image
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\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Paul Hilton<\/div>title=”Coconut
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\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Paul Hilton<\/div>alt=”Coconut
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I remember my parents\u2019 house with big open windows and with views of trees meant for climbing or sitting under the shade.  Playtime meant bicycle rides alongside gigantic cows from far off provinces carrying local wares.  Toys would be from old milk cans which we\u2019d take turns knocking it over using slippers, or little clay pots filled with water and leaves from my mother\u2019s garden.  The simpler times meant it didn\u2019t take much to enjoy a lot.

We were easily connected to nature. The summers back then had a fresh cool breeze as we chased dragonflies in lazy afternoons or plucked flowers of all colours, shapes, and sizes.  Fruit-bearing trees were in abundance in our little village. We would have mangoes, banana, and jackfruits all the time, all you had to do was ask your neighbours.  In fact, having a vegetable patch of your own was the norm.  The simpler times meant relying on nature for all our essential needs. 
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\"Vegetables
\u00a9 Wanweaw Hongvivatana \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

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Back then, I imagined how the future would be like- \u00a0with flying cars and walking and talking robots everywhere.\u00a0 A world ripe with advancements in all aspects that would enable people to live better, happier, longer and safer.\u00a0 Reality was not far behind, but somewhere along the way, it got extreme. The world wanted progress and development even if it would cost us the environment.

Just take a look outside your windows. We see tree-less mountain tops, the air full of toxic fumes, and seas and rives full of rubbish. Somehow, our quality of life deteriorated, even down to the food we consume. \u00a0And so instead of humankind zooming towards new frontiers in 2020, we now find ourselves at a standstill, \u00a0confined to our own cages.\u00a0 We are no longer free to do even the most mundane of things like to go out for coffee, or to take a selfie at the park.\u00a0
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\u00a9 Jani Sipila\/ Greenpeace <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In our pursuit for more \u2013 to have more, to do more, to be more\u2013 we unfortunately, now have less. We failed to see what were essential to life. We also failed to respond to more urgent matters: melting ice caps, forests burning, animals going extinct, social injustices happening\u2014 all were largely ignored until a global pandemic hit us hard.  And only then did the world take notice and respond, but still not in the nick of time.  As of mid-April, about 170,000 people all over the world have lost their lives to Covid-19 that will forever define the 2020s.   

So should I start living like it\u2019s the 80s and throw away my smartphone?  I believe that there is a misconception about making a positive change in the world-  that for anything significant to happen, one has to make leaps and bounds to achieve it.  Saint Mother Teresa said it best, \u201cI alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.\u201d  Change, therefore, is the sum of small efforts.  Small beginnings, but a spark nonetheless.

While I am no eco-guru, this worldwide pause got me inspired. I will start by opening my windows more, perhaps to use the air conditioner less (look, no air pollution!); by teaching my kids how to make use of their time through art- using broken crayons rather than opening new ones (broken is not really broken, you just have to use a little more imagination!); and by starting my own mini garden in pots (green has always been in!). Most of all, I will read up and share more information on the environment, particularly on climate change (it\u2019s a real threat to humanity!). The list goes on and the chances to make a fresh start are right there in front of me and you.  And there is no better time than now because (1.) we have lots of it, and (2.) our lives depend on what we do at this moment.  For real.

When all this is over (hopefully, sometime soon), and once we hit the \u201cplay\u201d button, I hope that we find the courage to do better, to be better humans, to keep the planet clean and green as it should be. We may not be able to fully bring back the simpler times of our youth, but we can move forward by living more conscientiously, sustainably, and dare I say it, more earth-friendly starting today. Happy Earth Day.<\/p>\n\n

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A watercolour painting by the author.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Sarah Sevilla-Manila is a happy mom to two tweens and a cute little furball. She is a writer and a painter who hopes to one day retire in a farm of her own<\/em>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n \t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVolunteer\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

15,000 volunteers around the world help us to do everything from painting signs and organising local marches, to dropping banners and occupying oil-rigs. Ever wanted to become an activist? <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t \n Get Involved\n <\/a>\n \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We hit the \u201cpause\u201d button on 2020. \u00a0While the world is currently in a state of shock and isolation, this whole experience has made me think about the simpler times of my youth. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":3799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"not set","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"not set","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[91,100],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-3793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-health","tag-philippines","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3793"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44920,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3793\/revisions\/44920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3793"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=3793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}