Lakshmipriya was born and raised in Perak, Malaysia and currently lives in London. Previously a Human Capital Consultant, she has worked in Malaysia and Dubai. She recently completed her PhD in Cognitive and Organizational Psychology in the UK. She has co-authored a book on talent management and is currently working on a paper that investigates the influence of sex differences when perceiving people. When not absorbed in academic research, Lakshmipriya enjoys Netflixing and cooking.
A reminder to be grateful for what we have
By Lakshmipriya
Last week, I had to make a house visit to assess a patient’s ability to continue living in her current home after she gets discharged from the hospital. It was part of my part-time work as an interpreter with a health service centre. It was a tough time. Making the call was the easy part, but assessing a painful given situation is never easy, not matter how long you have been doing it. You see suffering, you see pain and you stand helpless knowing the limit of help that will be given.
In this case, the living conditions were not really in favour of the patient. Her husband contracted COVID-19 early this year and has suffered a complication which can only be rectified by a surgery. Her son lost his job thanks to COVID-19 and her daughter is suffering from a terminal illness that is only going to get worse by the day.
There have been other days too, when I would come home after a particularly “shattering” day, affected despite the efforts to stay detached and stick to doing the necessary.
Could it get any worse? It does, doesn’t it? Not that there could be any joy in wondering if someone is doing worse than someone already doing terribly. The fact is many could be doing so much worse right now. Not just in the place I visited but elsewhere in many other parts of the world. It is not just the devastations that COVID-19 has brought to human beings but all the other situations like war, famine, natural calamities.
These sad days, however, are also serving me as great reminders to count my good fortune and feel the gratitude daily. It reminds me of the preciousness of all that I have, especially my health and to quit the complaining on what I don’t have.
It also makes me want to reach out to all those facing trying times in the midst of this never-ending COVID-19 trial, and wish them well. To tell them that – “this too shall pass”.
The views expressed here are that of the writerr’s and not necessarily that of Weekly Echo’s.