People Share the Things That the COVID-19 Crisis Has Made Them Realise – And it’s Not All Bad!

If there is one thing that the current COVID-19 crisis has given those of us lucky enough to be able to stay home, it’s time to reflect on our own lives and the world around us. Recently, people from around the globe have been taking to Reddit to share the things that the situation we all find ourselves in at the moment, has made them realise.

I’ve managed to get hobbies again. Can you imagine? I haven’t had hobbies in years because school and work kept me constantly either busy or tired. (Sckaledoom)

I was so beyond burned out. Although I knew it, I refused to acknowledge it, because of this ridiculous idea that you have to keep pushing and moving forward. Now I’m realizing all that pushing and moving forward didn’t really make that much of a difference to the end result of my job, but I was killing myself with the stress. (Rickyramrod)

Minimum wage workers are the backbone of our society. (Optillian)

I have realized that money is not worth what we think.

Exercise: If you know it is your last day to live, will a pile of money really seem valuable? You can’t spend it really, so wouldn’t you look at that pile and see it as a cruel cosmic joke as you consider the time away from your family that you spent to get it? (Slimfrinky)

How much we take for granted that everything just works.

That things like a global supply chain just…work. That an average joe like me can, in the dead of winter, reliably expect to see oranges in the produce aisle.

How much we now rely on others as a society. Globally. We rely on manufacturing from around the world. Food grown around the world. They rely on our purchasing things.

How incredibly connected we can be, with modern ships and airplanes and the internet.

And how we didn’t realize how fragile that was, or how intricately everything connected. (mygrossassthrowaway)

When all of this is over, whenever that may be, I think I’ll have a newfound appreciation for the seemingly mundane, little things in everyday life, and in general be incredibly grateful for this life (assuming that I don’t die by then of course). Be it going out to the local department store to buy groceries, or taking the public transport to and from work, or sitting and sharing lunch with colleagues in the office cafeteria – all of these will be seen in a new light. And so will be all those people who keep all these things up and running. (Villeneuve)

Daycare is worth every penny. (NEtrouthound)

That a company can run 5 months without a CEO, but it cant run a single day if workers do not show up all at once one day. (lastintherow)

How much food i actually waste on a regular basis. I always thought we did pretty good about not buying too many groceries or making too much, ordering too much, etc. How wrong I was. I set a goal for our household that we would use up all of our leftovers before making new stuff. Its forced me to be creative and experiment in the kitchen. Really shows you how long your pantry/fridge can actually last you. (casualzeemo)

It’s time to seize the day once this is over. I’m not going to hesitate to show the people that I love how I feel. Being able to talk to the people you love isn’t the same as being there to hold their hand when they’re alone, afraid, and in pain. And I miss having them there for me. (DrCocktorPHD)

Our manufacturing and supply chains are really fragile. We should stop relying on cheap far-away countries, especially those which govermental structures are so solid no light can pass through.

We need to bring this back closer to the consumers. Since there is no technological reason to have them faraway, it’s just down to cost. This would also help with climate change.

I study engineering and have work in manufacturing. These chains are insanely fragile for no reason than so we could sell cheap crap. (SinisterCheese)

That my social anxiety is stupid. why couldn’t I go out and socialize? why couldn’t I try to find a romantic partner? when it’s safe to do so, I’m definitely going to try to go out and find friends. Right now, I have no one to depend on, and no one to miss, and that in and of itself really sucks. (Nightfallbear)

Now that I have set the boobs free many many days in a row, I don’t know how I’ll go back to caging them within a bra ever again (represent_represent)

That getting out and seeing your friends and people is unbelievably under rated. (C-doc)

That a nice house, expensive cars, and pretty things really don’t matter if you don’t have basic necessities. (Unfair_Physics)

That it takes a global pandemic to kickstart the Earth’s journey to repairing itself, as well as saving endangered wildlife. (GnatAttack99)

That the thought of not having adequate healthcare when you need it is terrifying, and that most of the world must already live with this reality every day of their lives. (CriesOfBirds)

If your mother tells you to bring 1 3L box of wine – buy 2. (Rio_Walker)

Without the internet we are screwed. (junkoblah)

I realized that I spend so much unnecessary money. This has changed my view on my spending habits. (Raizau)

I know it’s very unpopular to bring up the flu when we’re talking about COVID-19, but still, the most surprising thing that I realized during this epidemic, was that hundreds of thousands of people die from flu each year and we just got used to it somehow, which is pretty weird. (iamoriginal11007999)

That I’m very grateful for things like running water, my mailman, trash collectors, and fast food employees (drawntothis)

That essential jobs should pay the most and that society has it all backwards. Teachers deserve more, athletes and entertainers get way too much. (Kiedisdad)

That a lot of jobs can and should be done from home in order to reduce our carbon footprint and traffic (FarSidePsy3214)

My parents are getting old… (Pwnnzz)

People are really, really unhygienic/gross overall. Please just wash your hands!!! (overpaidclerk)

Realized the government has enough money for healthcare, homelessness, crime reform, and all the other shit they say there is never any money for. (tripl3troubl3)

Turns out that my house being messy is NOT because I don’t have time to clean. Sigh. (BoredRedHead)

8000 kids die a day of hunger

1500 a day die from  COVID-19

COVID-19 only matters cause the rich can die from it too (noglowbro)

You can wipe your butt with just about anything. (ajosefox)

We saw it coming but didn’t react. We do the same with the climate crisis. We see it coming, but we don’t react. The impact of the climate crisis will be much bigger, more deaths, bigger economic impact, etc.

I hope we learn from this crisis and change our world.

Also the economy should work for the people, not the people for the economy. (Nelbar)

It has made me realize that 99% of the things that i worry about are actually incredibly trivial and really don’t matter at all in the grand scheme of things. (tip_top_scoot)

That this is an incredible time for art and creativity. Seeing the creative content that has come from people – artists, photographers, musicians, or even just bored teens sitting at home trying to make funny videos to pass the time – has been so uplifting and inspiring.

There’s a lot of bad happening in the world, and I am so sad for the hospital workers being worked to the bone trying to save people, and those who can’t get supplies because of hoarders thinking they are more in need than others, and people still unbelievably not being willing to call out or criticize politicians who are saying stupid things and not being real leaders. But with all that being said, I am so grateful for the beautiful side of human nature that is helping us come together and share our talents with the world to cheer up even just a few other people. (OlecranonCalcanei)

What has the COVID-19 Crisis made you realise?