RESILIENCE is something that we Kapampangans are certainly familiar with and may be considered as one of the best traits that we can be proud of. If it refers to rising above disasters and tragedies, we can say that the experience we went through during the Mt. Pinatubo eruption and lahar devastation is proof that we can definitely stand up again as a people and as a community.
As the nation celebrates National Disaster Resilience Month this July, we highlight this forceful nature that probably not only us Kapampangans are known for, but the whole country as well. This year's theme for the celebration is "Sama-samang Pagsulong Tungo sa Katatagan sa Gitna ng Bagong Normal" as it focuses on strengthening disaster resilience in the country while adapting towards the "new normal" caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Not everything under the new normal is pretty easy to accept and get used to as we still are fighting the invisible enemy that is Covid-19. What used to be simple pleasures like doing a grocery run, dining in restaurants, strolling at the mall, and even going to schools, now seem to be impossible and dangerous, risky things to do. These are the mundane things that we have always taken for granted, and now, we consider them somehow as luxuries because we cannot simply do these things like we ought to anymore.
Of course, it is never easy to have peace of mind as we feel that Covid-19 is an unseen threat, and many may have been battling over keeping themselves sane and mentally healthy for the past three months. With the number of confirmed cases rising, and the occurrence of local transmissions in certain parts of our province, we can never say that the battle is already nearing the end. In fact, we are far from winning this war against Covid-19.
Like all the other disasters that we have seen in the past, whether natural or even man-made, this pandemic might have affected us enormously, but it will not dwindle our positivity and resiliency to the very least. In fact, even as we have started doing our tasks under the "new normal" set-up, we can say that we have also paved the way for us to develop other skills such as maximizing technology as we embrace our work-from-home arrangements, distance and/or blended learning for our students and teachers, and others that we felt were impossible before this crisis hit us.
This is the time that we should have the "when life gives us lemons, we can make lemonade" attitude. The pandemic may have brought the entire world to its halt, but on the other side of it, we are now in our homes and we are given this precious time to slow down and enjoy the things that we have missed out because of the rush we are doing every day. While we gradually conform to the new normal standards, we have to stay positive and always be faithful to our Almighty God's protection and sustenance amidst these trying times.