When the first lockdown for 21 days was announced I was like how will these 21 days pass? It was my immediate reaction after the announcement as no one has ever been subjected to such a thing and the concept was a bit difficult to digest initially but here I am writing this after 4 lockdowns and a 5th on its way(I wrote this para before Unlock 1 was announced) and I can say that I have gotten used to this lockdown and am in a pretty good state both physically and mentally! (No offence to people who are facing hardships)
With professionals, lack of time is always an excuse not to do many things and then put the blame on time (or lack of) but now with 24 hours at your disposal and no-where to go the blame game cannot be played. So, with no excuse for not exercising, I am happy that I have stuck to a regular routine of yoga and meditation which otherwise I could not practice.
With limited resources available in the kitchen you realise the importance of simple home cooked meals. Also, it is not that difficult to survive without outside food! As the lockdown relaxed in few phases and with groceries available, I tried my hand at many new recipes and learnt that it is easy to make everything at home and the satisfaction of eating what you make is worth it.
I practiced my music lessons on the the keyboard a couple of times a week, connected with school and college friends after a long time and also had fortnightly zoom sessions with cousins. All the memories of childhood spent with cousins during vacations came back to me and it really felt good. This zoom meetings concept was new to me and in the first meet with my school group there were 16 of us and it took some time for me to understand how the zoom operates but it was fun. Initially as we all were speaking simultaneously, I couldn’t understand but after a few minutes we all got into a comfortable rhythm. There were few friends with whom I was talking after more than 20 years so initially I thought it would be awkward but it was good and so many memories resurfaced with all of us having a good time and promising to be in touch with each other more often. I became so good with zoom that in the next meets with my college friends and cousins I guided everyone!
We, humans are such resilient beings! Whatever life throws at you, you catch those things and try to live with them. Nobody thought such a situation would ever prevail and the regular things like going to work, out for a walk, having dinner at a restaurant or going to a movie would be risky to catch a virus. We are surrounded with so many people daily that initially the concept of social distancing was new to us. Still we are surviving all this, trying to outrun the virus living a healthy life and many of us have made a new routine with the existing conditions. I am thinking that if this continues longer, i may forget my old routine!
Writing all this, I do miss the routine where I could go to work or out of the house without being scared. Simple things like buying vegetables are a task these days. There are days when I feel low and there are days when the sun shines. But then I think of the hardships faced by others and count my blessings and be grateful.
Staying indoors for such a long time is difficult for all of us but we have to adapt to this situation and start living accordingly. This pandemic is going to be with us for the next few months so as we already have accepted it, we should learn to live with it and practice the necessary safety standards while going out and socialising. Lastly I would like to say that change is an inevitable thing and it is for the betterment of the society and mankind so we should continue in future with all the good and healthy habits accumulated during the lockdown and be thankful for the positive things in our life.