Celebrating life during the lockdown
Isn’t it ironic how things which seemed important a few days ago have now lost their charm? I experienced this first hand, when I had to ring in my birthday under a lockdown. Just to be clear, I'm not a person who wants to celebrate my birthdays partying all night - I'm all for a nice quiet dinner with loved ones surrounding me, sharing anecdotes about my childhood and generally making me feel loved and wanted.
But this year was different. The lockdown ensured that most of my family was away, although we did manage a small gathering, of five corona-free individuals, the mood was sombre. There was an undefined sense of constraint in the whole affair. No fancy cake, no fancy food - just a simple home cooked meal and a homemade cake. Please dont get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I love simple food and simple celebrations, it's the emotional undercurrents that all of us are experiencing that got me to think; and this is what I learnt:
1. Don’t take anything for granted, ever.
When we compare our pre-corona lives to our post-corona lives, there seems to be a vast difference. We are learning to value things we always took for granted. Simple things like availability of food, decent medical care, ability to go to our places of worship, freedom of taking a walk, and something as primitive as seeing the sky or meeting people.
2. Learn to live in the present
When times are good, living in the present is a song, but in times like these, the present seems daunting. We long for our past lives, we dream about an uninhibited future. But facing up to our present is what we must do. Of course, it takes courage and strength, firstly to accept that we are living in fear, secondly, it puts us in a place where our future seems doubtful. (Preachy, but true)
Humans are built to live in communities and social isolation can create an emotional conflict that can shake us to the very core. Has a simple microbe has brought the world to its knees? It's not so simple as that.
But humanity has overcome many different calamaties, illnesses and other disasters, to emerge victorious in the end.
There will be many of us who succumb, many of us who tide over this, but in the end, we are all in this together.
