Life lessons the pandemic has taught me

Award-winning broadcast journalist Karen Davila has almost seen it all. Interviewing newsmakers every morning, traveling to far-flung places for her documentaries and analyzing the news every afternoon for her radio show, Karen has evolved through the years. With 27 years of broadcast industry experience, Karen has gone through career highs and lows.

But COVID-19 and the closure of ABS-CBN didn’t leave her unchanged. But she chooses, as always, to look at her life, even the closure of ABS-CBN, through a different set of lenses.

Here, she shares some of the lessons that have hit her during this pandemic.

1. Life is fragile. A cliché, yes, but rings truer now than ever. COVID-19 has given us a hard look at how vulnerable life can be and how we can lose the way of life we hold dear.

2. Life is short. There is no point holding on to past grievances. COVID-19 has taken many loved ones away when we least expect it. Time is gold.

3. Luxury isn’t material. I have always believed that experiences, seeing the world, being around nature is life’s biggest luxury and we all felt that during the long months of being locked down. The value of walking outside, walking under the trees, breathing ocean air. It is a way of life I choose.

4. Family is everything. My husband, my kids — being with them is enough. Presence is precious. Being on lockdown has taught us that we can survive as a unit. Relationships at home are of more value than those we have spent so much time building outside, in the past.

5. Good health is the only weapon you have. Keeping your immune system strong may be the only difference that can spell life or death in the time of COVID. So invest time in it. Invest in yourself health-wise. Treat your body as a vessel for life. Respect it.

6. Savings matter. I need to stress this: that while investments are important and so is living your best life now, COVID and the closure of ABS-CBN have taught me the importance of having money set aside for a rainy day. I have always been a saver and I now see the value of that in these uncertain times!

7. Slow isn’t necessarily bad. Working long hours on TV, I experienced burnout, often got sick, and slept very late. I was able to recover lost sleep the last few months, which I treasure greatly.

8. Find your rest in GOD. The biggest and most valuable blessing I had during this period is having time to read God’s word and recommit myself to Christ. It is the best gift I have ever experienced during this time! There’s nothing like the peace and love of Jesus in the midst of the storm.

9. Get yourself a BIBLE and read it. I have recently discovered that all of life’s questions are really answered in that one book. This COVID experience has made people anxious and worried. And while many things are beyond our control, what we put in our minds is. And God’s promises have kept me strong, steady and at peace this whole time.

10. Kindness wins. Love trumps hate. We have seen the worst and the best in each other during this lockdown and in the closure of ABS-CBN, but all I can say is — we are all fighting a battle, healing a deep wound, going through a deep struggle and the pandemic has made it that much more difficult. Many people feel alone. Be kind. It is a powerful act of love that can change someone’s life and even save someone’s life.

(We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.)