The year just zipped by and before I knew it, it ended. It was so surreal, everything seemed so dreamy. But when I reflected, objectively a lot of things actually happened. And every single event were, in some ways, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic - a pandemic that continue to rage the world over even as I write (well, perhaps not Singapore... I'll write about it a bit later). I will try to keep the blog focused and build on what I wrote in the middle of 2020. Here's my reflections on 2020 and I frame it in 7 paragraphs using the alphabets S, U, R, R, E, A and L:
Stressful
2020 was one of the most stressful year I can remember and it's not about specific things such as work, or family or friends or anything... rather, it's about everything and changes that occurred in almost every aspects of my life altogether (and I believe this was the same for everyone else in the world too). And this is due to the COVID-19 pandemic (no surprise). Change is stressful and to have to change everything all at one time was rather overwhelming. At home, the limited lock down that we were all subjected to for 3 months saw us working from home, avoiding public places, etc. We were literally forced to see things and do things differently and no one was prepared for it. And as creatures of habits, all these change were stressful, not just the individual level but all stressful to families, companies, communities, and even the country (and world). Thankfully, this stress was well managed given the many support that I got from people around me. I believe we navigated through this pandemic very well and we ended the year feeling relieved. All things has 2 sides - a good and a bad. And for this pandemic, the good thing about it is that it uncovers a lot of gaps and in doing so, forced us to stare hard at them and correct it. We end the year with a renewed sense of hope that things are in order, we are well-positioned to manage this (and future) pandemics, and that damages as a result of this pandemic is kept to the minimal.
Unreal
2020 was somewhat unreal to me. I mean, for the first time in human history, the world was threatened by a common virus. And every human on earth felt, experienced and responded similarly. It was surreal to see people across the globe donning masks, doing swabs, etc - things that we never could have imagined when we bade 2019 farewell. At home, we declared time out when we saw an increased spread of the virus. A circuit breaker period was imposed between the months of March and June. Cinemas, eateries, and all places where people congregate and socialise were not allowed to operate. Public spaces and streets got emptied out. Even mosques, temples, and churches. We were all asked to keep to our home and not go out unless absolutely necessary. The annual 3-step-1-bow ceremony that I had participated for over 25 years was cancelled. We were reminded time and again to observe social distancing, to wash our hands, not to spread untruths, etc. I supposed it was a blessing that in Singapore, the population is well-schooled in science and the explanations and scientific-based approach to solving the issue was understood and went down well with many. The population fell in line and responded to the government’s call to hunker down. Things worked, infections fell and within 3 months, we re-opened gradually, stage-by-stage. We eventually we went back to the workplace in September, and we ended the year with all restrictions very much eased. We are still far from over this pandemic, seeing how it continue to rage the world. For now, we just have to keep vigilant, continue to observe all the measures we had embraced since early 2020 - masked up, observe social distancing, wash our hands, and be responsible. And with the mass vaccinations that had started, I believe strongly that 2021 will be better.
Re-energised
As stressful and unreal as 2020 was, there was actually a silver lining for me - I have never been more healthy in recent years. And I attributed this to a change in lifestyle, diet and an increase in exercise. Sometime in February when we started working from home, I decided it would be more logical for me to cook instead of driving out a couple of times a day to buy our meals. This was a good decision, on hindsight. Apart from being healthier, the ingredients used was fresher, and I was also able to control the quantity I consume. I started doing walks around my estate during the lockdown period. I could do so as we had started working from home and the time saved from commuting meant I could sleep later, rest in between meetings and do my walks in the evenings. I gradually increased the distance of my walks and also started exploring different places in Singapore. So, I ended up walking around reservoirs, housing estates, across the island, etc. This change in diet and lifestyle resulted in me losing a significant amount of weight. At the start of the year, I was 84kg and by July, my weight had dropped to 75kg - almost 9kg lighter. Admittedly, I started walking as I needed to get a breather and get out of the house and not becos I wanted to lose weight. And the outcome was certainly not what I had planned. But my chronic backache improved, I slept better, and I felt more energetic. Then again, I must say my health was not perfect. I experienced a series of scares throughout the year - the couple of bouts of flu/ URTI, a bad case of conjunctivitis, a retina tear, the discovery of intestinal metaplasia (IM) after my gastric scope, and being told that as a Chinese asian man, there is a heighten possibility of the IM developing into stomach cancer, etc. I believe some of these are related to aging. Just have to embrace the fact that my body is not what it used to be. I am 54 after all, right? heh... I acknowledge and accept the aging process, and I adapt and made little changes to how I live. So in 2020, I stopped wearing contact lenses (after more than 4 decades), I cook more, I walk a lot more, etc. And overall, I would say, I do think I feel a lot healthier and energised. For 2021, I will work hard to keep myself healthy.
Relationships
The social distancing in 2020 created tremendous impact on how we interact, collaborate and maintain our relationship with people around us. But our adaptability and resourcefulness was amazing. I strongly believe we came out of 2020 stronger, relationship-wise. We lost the opportunities to come together physically given the strict regulations put in place in response to the pandemic. Many missed the opportunities to meet up with families, friends and colleagues - even for a simple meal - impacted on our need for connections. We are, after all, social creatures. But we got creative and we quickly adapted. We resorted to technologies and in no time, we were zooming around with friends and families from across the globe. It was the same for my colleagues, my friends, my family and even myself. In context, and ironically, there were a lot more contact time with people close to me - case in point is my sister. She dropped by with cooked food more often, we shared recipes, reminisced and shared mum's recipes, etc. Also, at home, with no other distractions like gym, and meet up with friends, whatever time we had was spend together. We worked together (although in different rooms), eat together, do everything together, and of cos, watched a lot (and I mean - A LOT, A LOT) of Netflix and other TV programs together. As for friends, socialising went online. Birthday celebrations, funerals, etc went online. Such things would sound unreal and crazy just a year ago. But not anymore. It happened. It showed how adaptable we were. The saying that we are most creative when under stress was displayed in its full glory. Now, back to relationships - these shared experiences of stress and how we responded brought us together closer. And when things were relaxed, my friends and I were quick to reconnect physically (within the limits of pandemic guidelines, of course). We entered Phase 3 of the opening of the society at the end of 2020. I am hopeful there will be further easing of restrictions in 2021.
Event-ful
2020 was anything but normal. Everything had to be re-imagined given that life had to go on, especially during the lockdown period. We worked hard to keep our spirits up, and encouraged and supported each other. And at the earliest time possible and safe, we started easing the lockdown measures. We continued life as much as we possibly could. Major activities and celebrations at all levels went on, albeit digitally or on a scaled down version. We had our elections, national day parades, major festivals, and so on. We sang together as a nation, people came out and sang at their balconies, waved their torchlights, etc, and even Pink Dot, Singapore's annual LGBTQ event went online. In many of these events, we saw people coming together, and we saw our community and political leaders coming out to encourage and to engage the populace. I supposed the daily briefings by the national pandemic task force, and the constant engagements kept people informed of developments and the measures taken to address the issue and it boosted people's morale. In contrast, we saw how the situation in many countries around the world deteriorate - China, India, ASEAN, and of course, the United States. We could only hold our breadth and pray hard the infections don't come to us. At work, things got pretty tough, we went digital in a huge way, literally overnight! During the lockdown period, yours truly here was made a part of a task force to make sure staff continue to be engaged as they worked from home. That was a very stressful period as we had to plan all sorts of communications initiatives, events, activities, etc virtually. It was one helluva stressful period but after some good common sense, and deep learning, things became more manageable. I cannot imagine organising regional senior leaders conventions and global events online just a year ago but I managed to do it in 2020! Huge pat on my back! Today, going virtual and operating online is rather second nature to most of us. I can expect things will go more virtual in 2021 and with this, I believe more things will change - how we organise ourselves at work, how we interact, etc.
Appreciating What I Have
A huge positive outcome of 2020 for me was that I learned to appreciate what I have. Traveling overseas had been a major part of me over the past couple of years. At my peak, I travelled 3-4 times a month, even if it was a simple drive to Malaysia over the weekend. Traveling gave me the opportunity to unwind and to experience a different environment. It de-stresses me. But in 2020, all forms of travel was curtailed. It was really difficult for me initially and I felt the strain after a couple of weeks. Coupled with the stress of all the changes that took place at work, at home, etc, I almost went crazy. So I took to walking. And it was indeed a blessing for me. Apart from the improved health (as a result of weight loss), I got to see and experience, and more importantly, appreciate the many sights and sounds of Singapore. My walks through the different parts of the island (yes, Singapore is an island no more than 700-plus square meters) allowed me to discover parts of the island that I never knew existed. And so, I got to experience the full glory of the central catchment areas, the city sights, the nooks and corners of the heartlands... it was really good. It made me realise how, in our focus on things far away, we often fail to appreciate those things closest to us. What I have shared is about traveling. The same can be said about people, and relationships and it reminded me of a Chinese phrase - 远亲不如进邻 - translated, it means "a relative living far away cannot be compared to your neighbour". I supposed there's a lot of truth in it. I enter 2021 with a new sense of what I have around me.
Life Re-Defined
We entered 2020 with a view of how the world should be and what we wanted to do without realising nor predicting the upheavals that COVID-19 would bring to all of us. It was pure havoc. We ended 2020 with what many called a "new norm". In all sense, this term "new norm" is about right. Everything around us was totally re-defined. The life that we had known, the way things are done, the way we interact, etc are all different now. Local politicians are already telling us not to expect for things to go back to pre-COVID-19 days. In fact, they are already telling us and preparing us for Disease X. Well, to put in perspective, they are not threatening us, but rather, advising us that we should remain vigilant and embrace the new norm of being socially responsible, wash our hands, wear our masks and observe physical distancing. For it is these measures that will keep us in good stead when Disease X strikes.
Looking at the reflections above, I realised I had used "we" lots of times. Frankly, I was not trying to write an essay about 2020 in general and trying to avoid being personal (notwithstanding the fact that I feel somewhat less motivated to blog these days). Rather, I found myself doing so because the effects of the pandemic is so pervasive it affected every single one of us. 2020 was a surreal year indeed, and to many a lost year.
I look forward to a better 2021.
