Life as we knew it meant having to wear facial masks,    keeping distance from each other and staying indoors most of the time. No more audience watching live TV shows. No more restaurant dining. No more sports events. Most of all, no more attending Mass at Church. We had to get by with viewing online. 

Due to the quarantine, we saw people waking at the break of dawn and walking or cycling for hours just to be able to report for work. Because of the virus outbreak, we were required to stay a meter apart to not be contagious and not get sick.    

No matter how trivial life became with the coronavirus, as humans, we still want to see what’s positive. Staying at home meant having more family time. Everybody wanted to keep in touch with their loved ones regarding their welfare. People who were accustomed to buying material things did not have the urge to splurge on their purchases anymore.  

People stuck to buying their most basic day-to-day needs. We saw good Samaritans going out of their way to help those who cannot fend for themselves. For example: In a province, a man asked his nearby residents what their immediate needs were and would bike his way to buy it for them at the nearest local store. 

We are blessed to have a beauty queen in the Philippines as a prime role model who raised funds to distribute masks as protection. Large corporations helped in providing PPEs (Personal Protective Equipments), virus testing kits and laboratory facilities. Parish priests found more creative ways to bringing Jesus to their communities.         

We saw the thriving of the electronic age to greater heights. There was an outburst of work-at-home employment. Preventing touching “dirty” money, we were depending more on cashless transactions such as debit/credit cards, scanning codes with apps of business establishments. We were able to communicate more with people we love so far away.     

A hard-knock in life? Daily commuters learned to better appreciate being able to ride PUVs (Public Utility Vehicles like the jeep, bus and tricycles). Employees were more thankful they have jobs.  Grocery shopping without having to fall in long, tedious lines were a relief.  We saw the hardship that the onset of the virus outbreak has brought upon us to have more gratitude in life. We learned the hardest way to not take life for granted.  Life became more precious.