The Sunday Mail
Rumbidzayi Caroline Kahari
What happens when you take a step forward, or when you realise that there is a better and more effective way of doing things, do you just go back to business as usual and pick up from where you left off?
The coronavirus is not only deadly but has forced us to change the way we live our lives forever. We are seeing things that we never thought we would see except in a science-fiction movie, and right now we are living it.
On March 3 2020, I had a full morning Mass via WhatsApp because the churches were on lockdown.
Some congregants had the option to do the service via Facebook, but some of us — the slightly older generation that was holding out against social media — were a step behind.
Next time I am sure I will be with the Facebook crowd. Social media is no longer an option, it is now a must, whether we like it or not, even after the pandemic.
I will never look at church the same way I used to. The possibilities are endless because apart from language, churches are virtual and anyone anywhere can access a service of their choice in any country.
After quarantine, are we going to see business as usual within the religious space?
Are bigger, better churches going to be built or are we going to see more virtual churches comprised of small office buildings?
Although tragic and scary for all of us, the pandemic is certainly ushering us into the real new millennium, quite different from the 2000 one.
Of course, we have seen the rise of social media, which has made our world smaller, with considerable loss of privacy.
However, nothing like what is currently taking place could we have been anticipated 12 months ago.
The disease is ushering us, kicking and screaming, into a new world full of uncertainty, insecurity and curiosity.
When we saw what was happening in China, it seemed distant from us, but today it is here with us and we are all locked behind closed doors for 21 days in the hope that this virus will pass us by and we can get back to our normal lives.
However, when it passes us by, there will be nothing normal about the world that will be left in its wake.
Many workers are having to work from home. Most companies will increasingly come up with innovations to hedge themselves against future calamities.
Similarly, religious institutions around the world are finding new ways of spreading the gospel.
Church cell groups are resorting to Zoom technology, which most are finding convenient than driving to someone’s home for a meeting. Teachers in some countries are also reportedly using WhatsApp as a medium of instruction for students.
Zoom technology has been similarly deployed to allow students to have a feel of being in a classroom.
In future, this might disrupt the education system as we have come to know it.
The education system is notably part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Brick-and-mortar institutions are really under threat. Coming closer to home, it takes 21 days to change a habit and for the next 21 days, we cannot shake hands and hug each other.
With social distancing become the norm rather than the exception, will our society ever be the same again?
We are well and truly in a new age.
We have to embrace a new way of doing things and all countries have to be on top of their game in the area of technology, lest they get left behind.
While some countries are using technology to advance in education, religion, et cetera, where are we?
There is a new world waiting for us when we leave our homes after 21 days corralled in our homes.We have to adapt or die.
Human beings have been able to adapt to diseases such as influenza, chicken pox, et cetera. Sadly, some lives are lost along the way.
As for most of us, we are hopeful and praying that this cup passes us by.
Overall, after the coronavirus, it will not be business as usual.
Let us use this time to assess our life in its entirety and try to envisage how the virus has economically and socially impacted our life.
What possibly could be the necessary tools we need to make a living if our old one has become obsolete?
The world as we know it is over and we are waiting in anticipation for the one that is to come.
Stay safe; stay healthy
Rumbidzayi Kahari is a writer and communications specialist.
