Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 1) — As the world welcomes a new year amid the pandemic, a veteran life coach reminds the importance of human connection and gratitude this 2021.
In an interview with CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon, Jem Fernandez reminded Filipinos to go back to basics and focus on what’s essential: taking care of relationships with family and loved ones.
Current stay-at-home rules have encouraged families to bond in the comforts of their residences for much longer periods, he noted. But for those physically apart from their loved ones, technologies such as video conferencing platforms like Zoom could be maximized for reaching out.
Reaching out, according to Fernandez, is very important given the tragedies this pandemic has brought upon individuals and their families. In the Philippines alone, hundreds of thousands have been infected with the coronavirus disease, which has also claimed the lives of thousands more. Millions of Filipinos also remain out of work with quarantine rules barring the full resumption of business activity.
“Yung mga nawalan ng minamahal natin noh during the COVID-19 [pandemic], all the more itong mga friends natin na ito, itong mga kamag-anak natin, all the more we really need to reach out to them. Kasi you can just imagine the loss, diba? This is totally unplanned, it’s quite surprising for some,” Fernandez stressed.
[Translation: All the more we really need to reach out to our friends and relatives who lost loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because just imagine their loss, right?]
And simply reaching out is not enough. The quality and frequency of one’s interactions with the concerned individual also matters, he added.
Still, the life coach reminded the importance of being grateful for one’s blessings the past year, noting that while 2020 did not give people what they wanted, it taught them to value what they have.
“We cannot fault the people for feeling negative eh kasi talagang malaking dagok ‘tong na-experience natin [because we really experienced major obstacles]. But nevertheless, hopefully by embracing gratitude, we would get to see the light and we would have a more positive outlook,” he explained.
A survey released by the Social Weather Stations in December revealed 91% of Filipinos are hopeful for the new year even with the current pandemic. This, however, emerged as the least optimistic rating the pollster reported since 2009, when only 89% were hopeful for the year ahead.
