Listen to this BlogCast
“If we all asked ourselves what changed during these past few months, I hope we can agree that it is our attitude towards our lives, respect for our environment and for each other.” – Mahrukh Motafram
Mahrukh Motafram is currently a member, trustee and, a past Board member for the Zoroastrian Society of Washington State. She is involved with the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) where she is currently the co-chair for the North American Zoroastrian Congress committee. She is a member, a past Board member, and a past President for the Assistance LeagueÒ of the Eastside. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and has been in the US since 1981. She resides in Sammamish, WA with her husband Feroze and, has two (2) children, Freya and Jamsheed.
Read this BlogCast
This past year has been the most challenging experience of our lives and continues to test our resilience even today. As a woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister it seemed I was being pulled in all directions trying to find answers to how to make things better for the ones I love. We were drifting in the doldrums with no winds of change on the horizon.
Perhaps tomorrow will be different, a miracle will happen, and life will resume.
There is pain and suffering. It was especially heartbreaking to see the children and young adults, whose lives came to an abrupt halt through no fault of theirs as well as the families who were struggling with hardships. I searched for light, even a tiny spark to keep my hope alive. As resilient as we are, during these tough days, we need to know that it will be alright, and we will get through this. This is not the first time humanity has experienced suffering. Hence what lessons can be learnt from our past history on how to get that strength and focus our forefathers had mastered to cope with adversity.
The important lesson realized is that through challenges come opportunities. Our strength in who we are and what we can do can help us keep our spirits alive. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, for our own survival, we have had to change, to pivot to a design that works, a reality suitable for our existence, in our case virtual reality. Our collective minds were at work to find creative approaches to solving problems as we embrace our new normal which is positively energizing. The world became much smaller, with relationships renewed over numerous happy hours!!
As we emerge, I hear talk about getting back to normal. I do not want to go back to normal, to pre-pandemic life. If we all asked ourselves what changed during these past few months, I hope we can agree that it is our attitude towards our lives, respect for our environment, and for each other. We saw how the world rallied behind the Black Lives Matter movement and the social injustice experienced by individuals of color. Our air became cleaner, birds sang, and clean waters flowed. We came together as a country during elections, exhilarated to have our nation back on a moral footing with liberty and justice for all.
I believe with all my heart, that it all begins with individual choices. Each one of us has the ability to make choices, right or wrong. Wise choices will help better our society and render it devoid of any malice or hatred. This can be achieved universally with our collective progressive thoughts, respectful words, and noble actions.
I recall reading an interesting quote, “Celebrating our differences has no substantive meaning if we do not simultaneously recognize our common humanity, our connections, and relationships”.
On that note, working together, building relationships, and sharing spaces will restore trust in humanity paving the way for a brighter future.