Our entire world hadn’t come to a standstill, in this manner before. No vehicular movement on the road, non-functional business establishments, all events cancelled-sports or otherwise, no social gatherings, eateries/pubs/bars closed, all playgrounds and parks closed, no casual gatherings allowed, no civil constructions.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine, I would be witnessing such a scenario. We were forced to stay at home. We have been so conditioned to fulfill our need for joy from everything outside-going out for a movie when bored, hang out with friends over drinks to feel included, go out for drives or vacation to press pause to life, shop to fulfill the urge to feel special, and many such things. We were suddenly thrown into a pool without the skills to swim and without a life jacket and had to learn to survive on our own.i.e, be happy without reason.
The best thing about nature, and we are nature too, we adapt to circumstances quickly and make the best use of it.
Inside the four walls of the house, we recognized the true meaning of relationships. Although we tracked the increase in number of cases, yet we were grateful for the health of our loved ones. We had abundance of time at hand, we truly explored things which made us happy. We have heard the phrase, ‘stop to smell the flowers’, this time, we truly did it. With silence all around and birds chirping in the background, even when we did not intend, we heard ourselves as well. We learned to be more compassionate and shared our limited resources with each other. Finally, we got to know our neighbors and the joy in sharing a cup of tea in the evening. We learnt to speak softly and with love. We learned to pray for all, those whom we did not know as well. Unfortunately, there had to be a calamity which brought about a sense of unity in us. Some of us struggled too, but there was always a helping hand around or a heartfelt wish sent out. We learned to love a little more, care a little more, exhibit patience, be grateful and find joy in the smaller things in life.
Now, we are getting out of the restrictions. Life will slowly get back to where it was. We will soon find ourselves in the same routines as before. Are we going to forget then, what brought us real joy? Are going to get caught up in winning a race again? Shall we stop at traffic and help a driver whose car has broken down in the middle of the road? Shall we continue to keep ourselves and our surroundings clean without the fear of a virus? Will the feeling of gratitude fade away with daily chores coming into picture? Shall will still make time and enjoy the cup of tea with the neighbor? Will the willingness to listen to ourselves remain, with the increase in noise around us again?
Are we going to remember, that a virus, born outside of us, handicapped us and what was within us helped us survive and thrive?
