What is Love in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic?

written by Ryan De Torres

Almost everyone’s life has changed because of the pandemic called COVID-19 that many have experienced loss and despair. There are deaths of loved ones, closures of businesses, retrenchments in work, and separations from people we love which made people cry because of anxieties, depressions, and had fear of the possibilities to happen today and tomorrow. Community quarantine, disrupted transportation, and physical distancing made us long for warm hugs, spontaneous talk, group bonding, and family gatherings. As we walk through with our life today, how did the pandemic change the way we love? What love has become to everyone during this time?

Passing through the walkways in the LRT, I see darkness and emptiness. The female vendor I used to talk to was no longer there selling my favorite dumplings. I started to wonder where she is right now, hoping that she is okay and having something to put on her table. Realizing the situation makes me feel sad and down, but I have to move forward.

While riding the LRT, looking outside, I see groups of people giving and sharing food in the street. I see the hint of light and happiness painted in the faces of the people as they receive the food. Hope resides in me as a smile etched in my lips while looking at the people who are still willing to share what they have even though they are losing something on their ends. As I left the Pedro Gil station, I saw one of my colleagues who is a nurse and is about to go to work. My heart is awed. I sensed his strong sense of bravery and passion for helping those who are in need. I salute him and the other health professionals who are selflessly and wholeheartedly treating those patients with Covid-19 infections, despite having limited support and assistance.

Upon my arrival at the university to have my first personal meeting with my colleagues, the scenario gave me a totally different feeling. Uneasiness and somehow excitement runs through me—thanking God that finally, I get a reason to be outside. I am amazed by my colleague’s dedication and perseverance to provide quality education to our students, despite the odds of online teaching.

As I got home, a lovely news came. My sister delivered a healthy baby boy—a new member of the family, a new hope, a new source of happiness. Everyone is excited and it really is something to look forward to from time to time. However, a few months later, a heart shattering news came to me. My dog died. I felt the misery, the pain, and the love for him surging through me as I grieve in despair. We have never been so close, but during this pandemic, he stayed beside me, making me feel secured and safe. However, my beshies are there to support and comfort me during my devastating days. During this pandemic, I got to reach people I have never had time to reconnect with again, get to know other people, and survive with them.

One night before I sleep, I have the time to appreciate more of what I have, of where I am. A part of me is thankful for the longest community lockdown because I got the chance to bond with my family. My family has been there to laugh with me, to encourage me and became my source of strength and inspiration.

I think the value of love during this pandemic has changed drastically. It showed the materialistic things are not the primary reason why people love. All of us have experienced a lot during this calamity. Some might have lost their loved ones, some might have thought of losing hope and some find this situation an opportunity to change their perspectives. Nevertheless, because of what happened, the pandemic gave us the chances to magnify the beauty of love, with love, for love, and to love! It gives us time to love ourselves and others. It makes us choose love and still live with love.