We have been into the lockdown for a month now. What looked like an idyllic holiday in the beginning has started to reek of an increased staleness with each passing day. One of the many benefits (in disguise) of the current period is that it is making us aware of our privileges and making us feel thankful for them. A great amount of gratitude is due towards social media as well as it keeps us connected even in our isolation. Boundaries of countries have ceased to exist, and the world has come together in isolation.

All of us have fallen into our new routines by now; many working from home (WFH). For me, there is no WFH option since we are into adventure sports and can do nothing till the lockdown is over. So, I’ve started waking up later, spending more time cuddling my pets, picking up a comfortable book to read, while sipping on some citrus juice under the 11.00 am sun (it supposedly boosts immunity). I work out every day to not let inertia set it. I’ve also taken up an online course to use this time to study and grow. I have taken up the social responsibility of feeding the strays in my area as they are going thirsty and hungry because of the lack of people on roads, and the lockdown of restaurants. I have picked up old hobbies I left far behind, such as painting, that bring me a lot of joy.

We have all found creative ways to keep ourselves busy and are also taking time to relax and reset. But the bigger question that this period has thrown up is how we think and feel in the in-between. We are being forced to do a lot of that, and it’s getting uncomfortable. Isn’t it? The disbelief that in 2020, the world could be brought down to its knees and no amount of money or power can really get anyone out of this is shocking, and humbling as well.

What’s for sure is that when we come out of this, we’ll know beyond a doubt all those things we always wanted to believe in, but didn’t have the courage to. In a twisted way, we are witnessing god at work. Look at nature lashing back – for every animal that’s been caged and abused, for every forest that’s been destroyed. The least that can be said is that we’ll finally know the law of karma, that what goes around does come around. I don’t know if the damage done to the planet can be undone. But I do know that being loving towards it, celebrating it, being kind to it is the only way out.