Confined… But Not Broken
“The world as we know it will never be the same, and I hope neither will we.”
So, it’s been more than 5 weeks since I have been confined in my house. I go out only to buy essentials in the morning. Earlier I used to go for my morning jog, but since 2 weeks, that has also been prohibited. I am trying to take on each day instead of getting through them. It’s very easy to get consumed by all the scary headlines, or even by refreshing the webpage every now and then. But what’s not so easy is to wake up every morning with a purpose, set goals to keep myself busy and make most of the time that I currently have. Gradually, I am getting there. Yes, I am anxious. Yes, I get moody at times. Yes, I am also fearful sometimes. But, I am working on all that. I am learning from others and in the middle of the quiet chaos, I am trying to make some changes within me.
It is true that isolation, social distancing or even being with our families can be good for the soul, but when it is forced on us, we may feel claustrophobic and equally challenging. But, I am trying to look for hope even in the tiniest little things. Anger, frustration, panic and fear can easily taint our minds.
I would be lying if I say that my perspectives haven’t shifted ever since the lock-down. It has taught me to evolve, adapt and be resilient to the changes. A month of isolation and confinement has fundamentally reformed our lives. I would like to quote Dalai Lama here, ‘It is very rare or almost impossible that an event can be negative from all points of view.’
The pandemic has alarmed us with a reality check. Coupled with lock-down, it has made us realize that in order to live well, one does not need much. It is helping us and asking us to go back to the basics of living a simple life. This may get people closer to their roots and traditions.
All we can do at this juncture is to dive into books, watch movies and series, of a life that seems so far away from today. But the irony is, that life was only a few months away.
And finally, once all this is over, we all will head back to our ‘normal life’. Some of us may even not remember that we ever had to go through all this ordeals, fear, anxiety and craziness. But unfortunately, the others would always remember this. Because they lost their family member or a friend along the way. To some this would be their biggest tragedy of life, while to some it would be just another phase of life.
As the saying goes, ‘The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.’
Whatever the future brings along, we should be well prepared for the new world that is awaiting us. And who knows, we might even see a reformation in the field of education, a new way of working, traveling, communicating, and living. There would be a rain of new products, businesses, services in the market. But what one should remember is that when we step into recovery, we would also be walking into a time of discovery.
One day again (like today), I would wake up at 2 in the night, grab my laptop and pen down my thoughts. One day, we may all look back in life and say, ‘We were able to pull through.’
