Some people always start with a ‘no’ to everything they are told or addressed; Of course, many of them don’t really mean ‘no’, it’s a habit to say so. For others, however, a ‘no’ means no always to every issue under the sun, even if they are being told the most correct news or development for the first time. This is the germ of negativity which, if left unchecked, eventually takes full control of the unfortunate human mind. Such negative vibes are often infectious and negatively affect everyone, be it homes, offices or public places. This writer has experienced this syndrome on his various train journeys: yes, in India most people are very used to trains being late, but when a train is running very well, it is on time or even early, those souls continue to give off the negative vibrations ‘no, he’s already late or he’s going to be late or he’ll finally be three or four hours late’ and so on; and this writer has seen on many occasions how these negative vibrations cause the train to lose time due to a series of unforeseen errors and finally to be hopelessly delayed. We do not need to present scientific proof about negative vibration infection syndrome, because most things in the human mind, in fact, cannot be proven.
During the last few months, the waves of negative vibrations are increasing as worryingly as the COVID virus. The reasons for this are not far to seek. In the wake of the ‘new normal’ imposed on humanity by the killer virus, people are deprived of the things they always liked to do: they cannot mingle with friends or family, even in the home environment; they are deprived of all the parties, of all the socio-cultural-religious events; they can no longer visit movie theaters or their favorite restaurants; in some regions they cannot even take their morning or evening walks, jogs or walks; all the women are getting tired of being in the kitchen continuously with no exits or food coming in from outside, and although the men try to help them in the kitchen, the ‘losses’ turn out to be more than benefits; people living in congested or compressed spaces, particularly in Indian slums and lower-middle class households, are becoming suffocated and impatient; and you can’t afford the ecstasy of shopping except the tedious and repetitive online options.
The rise of negativity has also emerged as a socialist phenomenon without class bias, even celebrities from various fields in their spacious apartments get angry, frustrated and impatient. The film industry, particularly in India, seems to be the most affected, from stars to young artists, technicians and small operators, the former suffocated by forced idleness and depression, while the latter suffer from lack of employment. and financial difficulties. For example, Bollywood (India’s Hindi film industry) has been squirming and stifling so much that this possibly led to a rising star, Sushant Singh Rajput, committing a suspected suicide which has in turn threatened to split the industry. in two. , one side alleging mob rule and nepotism while the other side fights back and faces police questioning.
Many have also questioned the role of the media in spreading negativity. ‘Why do they always highlight the negative stories?’ has been the constant question on people’s minds. Videos of various missed incidents, such as keeping dead bodies for a long time together with recovering patients in COVID treatment rooms or patients dying due to the hospital’s alleged refusal to admit or complete lack of dignified cremation for dead patients, in fact, they are repeatedly broadcast in India. TV channels at different times. The media, in the unusual ruthless throes of crisis-ridden competition, must be heeding the negativity that has multiplied in the previous months. Of course, good news stories are also shown, but in some cases, even good news stories take on a negative overtone; for example, some channels tend to use somewhat negative words like ‘depression’ or ‘dip’ while telling a very positive story that new COVID cases are going down in certain cities, and while showing COVID hospitals with many empty beds the impression that What follows from the structure of the story is that hospitals should really be blamed for underutilizing beds. Such is the power of negativity.
As strong as the rise in Corona, the rise in negativity is also finding an obvious outlet on social media. Instead of inspiring users with positivity, most of the posts/videos just aim to terrify/misinform/mislead them. The emotions expressed are always ridiculous or disdain or hearsay or satire at best. Now that digital existence is becoming a reality, constant exposure to such negative hammer blows will surely impact the human mind in an undesirable way, further strengthening the negative tide.
Like the wave of COVID, the wave of negativity must also be contained with positive measures. Unfortunately, the authorities cannot do much on this front. The people must reflect, reconsider and arm themselves with a strong positivism in everything they do, from eating to looking, speaking, listening or working, applying moderation and discretion at all times. They should tune in only to genuine and confirmed sources of information; they should not keep blindly forwarding posts/videos on social media; and ultimately, they must learn to differentiate a half-full glass of water from a half-empty one. They must counter the word ‘no’ in a very practical way, unless it is a matter of life and death. In fact, good positive stories are developing all over the world, you just need to watch them. As we were talking about people living in congested slums, the largest slum in Asia, Dharavi in Mumbai, has created a success story in containing the virus in the most effective way that received international praise and praise. The will of the people is almighty, if they simply decide to win against a virus or negativity, they will surely win. Regardless of being Corona negative or Corona positive, you should always be positive in life, in the face of any challenge. There is no better time to achieve positivity than the present.
