When I was a kid, I imagined the day Mother Earth would "throw up" humanity in the form of a worldwide war or societal crisis, like the one we have just entered. I liked to flirt with the idea of extreme survival and imagined what I would do in such a situation, how prepared (or unprepared) I would be and what I would have to learn in order to survive such a drastic time.

I became a psychologist because I have always had humanity at heart. I wanted to study our behavior, our talents and our greatest achievement and success stories but also our darkest hours in order to understand how we managed to bounce back. What's interesting is that in all of the scenarios I have studied about humanity, there is always one constant element required for recovery: unity!

We've managed to survive because of unity. Conflict brings no winners, and even though some economists might argue that there are those who become extremely wealthy in the aftermath of a conflict, my response would be, "Yes, but for how long?" The bigger you inflate your balloon, the bigger the blast will be.

Since 1929 and the stock market crash, the economy has nosedived time and time again, often shortening the time for recovery between crashes. It seems to me that greed has never been so toxic for our planet and those who are addicted to money have never been further away from much-needed psychological treatment.In the early aftermath of this new worldwide situation, I watched as we faced our own fears of losing goods and the stuff we have accumulated. As we rushed down the aisles of our supermarkets to replenish our stock of toilet paper and cue tips, I had to ask, "Is this really what humanity has come up with after 4.5 million years of evolution?" Despite this, I personally view this crisis with positivity and great hope for humanity and our planet. This is our chance to press the reset button.

If this lockdown lasts long enough, and after panic and fear have disappeared, I believe we could enter a new normal for humanity where the Earth continues to heal. In just two months, air pollution has dropped significantly. For the first time in decades, the new generation might see something new in the sky that blue color! In a year's time, having survived with just the essentials, buying the latest lawnmower could seem unthinkable, dreaming of the new pickup truck might be laughable and gambling on the stock exchange could be a thing of the past.

The new normal could also bring better human relations and upgraded human behavior. My hope is that people start remembering our intrinsic connection to one another, to nature and to our universe. This reset could feel like waking up from a bad dream made up of altering virtual reality, gaming, TV series and biased social media connectivity only to realize that our house was on fire.

Once we come to terms with what's truly essential, I hope humanity will understand that never have we increased our chance of survival by flipping indexes on a virtual stock exchange, which the psychologist in me calls the "index of fear" the fear of those who have become one with their object and assets.

What seemed to be an absolutely unthinkable scenario a few months ago is now a full reality as most leaders of the world have worked closely with the United Nations and scientific organizations without the need for a media parade or negotiation. In just a few weeks, we have reduced our consumption, we have shared our resources and knowledge, we are moving away from fossil energy as oil prices plunge, we are doing more to support local businesses and we have seen a drastic decrease in cars on the road and airplanes in the sky.

The good news is that the world has now come together more quickly than ever in our common shared history, and the status quo between action and inaction that lasted half a century has finally been broken. We have demonstrated our ability to adopt a worldwide strategy, proving the point that all failed attempts of the past were pure excuses.

Now, the entire world knows that another world is possible and there is no turning back. We can only beat this pandemic united, and we now have the unique chance to take our next step in our evolutionary history as one voice, one people and one planet. Let's not miss that chance.

Excerpt from:
Amid Hardship, There Is An Opportunity For Positive Global Change - Forbes