2021: Three Powerful Lessons Learned

Do you ever reminisce how it would be to rewind to...say November 2019 and reflect on that carefree life? I try not to daydream too long as the idea of travel, social gatherings, concerts, inspiring events all with no risk simply sound unimaginable. But....I do think that we all, yes all of us, have come out ahead and learned some valuable lessons of life since 2020 and upgraded our day-to-day wellness awareness in 2021. Here are some of the top three lessons we have learned which I wanted to share:

Empathy: The pandemic has only underlined our need to think about others whether it be students without books or technology to learn, elders who need a helping hand, our fellow human beings in need of a job or support. Working personally for a charitable non-profit in South India, I have been witness to the generosity of people offering their time, money and expertise to those in need in 2021 from all walks of life whether it be advice, monetary support, or offering encouragement to young minds. Let us hope this lesson remains.

Clean & Green Products: As a former beauty marketer, I love to look at new wellness products launched and since 2020 one things is for sure: clean and sustainable beauty products are here to stay. I am constantly amazed at the wide range of exotic scents of hand and face washes, and alcohol sanitizing spritzers that are now available in even small mom and pop stores across South India. Beauty concoctions such as hand sanitizers with apple cider, tea tree, coffee, and black onion were hard to find before 2020 and are now easily available on the market. According to an article in Business Line, emerging beauty trends in growing consumer markets like India are skin minimalism, sustainable packaging, ingredient based shopping and clean beauty.

Embracing Innovation and New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence as well as medical and scientific landmarks are here to stay. With the threat of a virulent virus like Covid-19, innovations are being created every day to solve real life needs and make the planet a safer place to live. For example, I recently read an article that the awkward nasal swab test which is difficult to administer on children spurred the invention of a chewable lollipop that could potentially use its "chewable, buckle cavity swab device" to more easily capture saliva tests for RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests for children that is currently in clinical trials. If this was not novel enough, MIT and Harvard researchers joined to create a face mask using freeze-dried molecular machinery to read DNA and produce RNA and proteins which can detect Covid in 90 minutes. Their vision for this product would be that it inspire "next-generation wearable bionsensors" for health care workers, military and first responders potentially saving their lives through early detection of viruses, bacteria and toxins.

As we near 2022, I hope that empathy, innovation and clean beauty continue to be emerging trends which become part of the social fabric of the society we live in and a positive step for mankind.