Yes, I am for the opening of the economy. This, however does not mean that I am not for health. Health will always be our wealth. Over the last several months, I have been in contact with a lot of individuals and organizations, probably making those months the busiest time in my life. I feel everyone. I understand what staying home and staying safe means. I did that. My family did that. We only went out for grocery, once every two weeks, and relied on delivery most of the time. I am sure all of us tried. All of us did what we can. It all came out beautifully. We all cared. This pandemic brought out a caring community. We finally understood that we all are interconnected. For once, we were able to appreciate the clear skies, the lack of traffic, our family, our skills and most of all our resilience. 

I have seen how businesses tried to come up with innovative ways to maintain the income of their employees. I have seen how the big corporations stepped up to help our government provide the needs of the general population. I have seen how we all submitted to authority, how we readily gave up our rights and freedom just to support the call to flatten the curve of Covid – 19.  We all have learned. 

We have learned that our lives can be altered in one instant. We have learned that even in isolation, we need the voices of people who care to keep our faith for better days ahead. We have learned that what we have is not enough; that we will constantly be in need of somebody else to complete our needs. We have learned that whatever we do, there is a Master, who plans all things. 

I have been a Financial Advisor since 2010 and a management consultant since I was 25. I have never experienced what I have experienced now. I have weathered the 2008 financial crisis. I have seen how the Philippines got back on its feet. What I have not seen in my entire career is the the utter confusion of people on how to move forward. Their uncertainty on what the future holds. Their fear on what is to come. We all had different experiences when we all went through shock, denial, frustration and depression before we finally tried to experiment on what will work so we can make a decision and move on to make changes so we can integrate in the new normal.  I greatly appreciate to have read all these concepts that the Kubler-Ross Change Curve speaks of because it finally gave a description to what I have been going through myself. This is why I know that we have learned. I know that the moment we get our income back, we will be more mindful and set aside amounts to create the financial foundation for our needs. 

These are unprecedented times. No one has the right formula. We all will experiment and see what works. I am for the opening of the economy because people need to sustain life. We are not made to be hidden. We are bound to socialize. I know that sounds bizarre because going out there will expose us to the virus. Yet we do know that staying locked down is not going to be sustainable, either. The gross inequality in our income levels makes this very difficult. We take care of those who need to earn to provide for their needs. We take care of the breadwinners who need to work to provide for their families. We all take care that we give an equal opportunity to those who need it the most. I understand the fear but we cannot let it cripple us. We learn from those who have opened their economies. We follow the safety protocols. We commit to a hygiene routine. We make sure to keep social distancing. We adapt. We subject ourselves to stringent health checks. We make sure we boost our immune system by eating well. We all need to do this and slowly open the economy. By opening the economy, we also slowly claim back our lives. We go back to basics and focus on what truly matters. Us. No virus should prevent us from living the life we were destined to live.