The Silver Lining..

Lockdown extended till 03rd May.

This news came like the lightning bolt which tore through and slashed us into pieces.. Well, most of us. I still go to office so I am sorted.

Never thought I’d be this happy going to office LOL. But what did I know. However, at this crucial point of time, I enjoy office even more.. mostly because I get to go out of the house everyday, meet people I love to hangout with, have an actual chai-break. I tell you, that moment when you show your ID to the policemen at checkpost and they signal you to go instead of interrogating, is PURE GOLD.!

That’s my silver lining.

My roommate works from home.. and boy do I find it tedious. I mean doing it in due course is a different thing but when “want to” becomes “have to”, it gets miserable on a different tangent.

Anyways, there are a lot more people as well for whom sitting at home, not being able to do anything is God’s revenge. And who better to think of than my family.. Why look anywhere else, right?

My father is usually cranky but now he’s making everyone else around him as well. Constant nagging & the useless new channels with messed up(for lack of better word) news.

We always complained that he didn’t have enough time.. and now, all of them have had enough of each other already.!

Be careful what you wish for LOL.

Everyone who’ve been stuck in their homes are feeling something similar I guess.. But there is so much more to this lockdown.

This is the time to create, heal & resonate. Being at home for such a long period gives us that window I believe..

It’s happening on a grand level.. Ozone layer hole is decreasing, Ganga river has become drinkable again, AQI had improved to a tremendous level, dolphins are coming back.. Then why does improving self seem so tantalizing still?

Haven’t we learned anything yet?

If this whole situation has taught us anything, it’s to reassess our priorities on a whole new different level. But why is it such a daunting task? Because it’ll make us go where we don’t want to. In our heads..

It’s high time.. atleast for us fortunate who are in the comfort of our homes.. to visit those dark places in our heads... open it, dust it, throw out the redundant.. and close that chapter.. get closure.. get our peace-of-mind.

Isn’t it a perfect time to try to love each other more, to abide by the righteousness that we believe to have, to talk it out, make amends, read like crazy, hone our skills, improve our mindsets, be more emphatic, do whatever we didn’t have time for before.. love and live as if there’s no tomorrow.. because guess what..

It might be so!

We’ve changed our ways in just a matter of days because we’re dead scared for our health and life. Doesn’t mental health count too? Even today when we’re forced to rethink everything, this is one area where things are just piling up under the rug.. and they keep on increasing exponentially now since all our distractions have been cut off.. Let’s be honest, for how long can a person just Netflix and Chill! Even that’s exhausting.

Amid the chaos, Ramayana & Mahabharata are being broadcasted on DD National.. Sure, it’s being done to do away with boredom and so families can come watch it together and put all the nagging and crankiness on shelf even if for a little while.. But what got me wondering is.. once the lockdown is over, would people still watch it? If people are trying to instil the values or learn something now, would they follow it still?

Ramayana and Mahabharata are epic. They are our ways of life... but are they?

Just calling Ram ji, “Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Chandra ji”, or ”Ganga Putra Bheeshma Pitama”.. is not enough. We call them our role models, but just calling them so and not actually treading on their paths would make us hypocrites, wouldn’t it? They spent their lives for the words they believed in, they stood firmly on their grounds, they believed in fair. Always. We should atleast try it right? And what better time to try out ?

We’re so afraid to change our views, acknowledge our thoughts, or even our anger...

“But I’ve found comfort in it.. I’ve fed it, raised it... and made it what it is... now is it intelligent to burst that bubble and let it go..? that passive aggression which I hold so dear to myself.. the insecurities.. which if taken, might take away my identity as well.. the judgement which I’m able to pass as a nonchalant joke..?”

Yes it is indeed.

It might not be what we imagine it to be.. But don’t we owe it to ourselves to try?

It’s like Schrodinger’s cat.

Unless we do it, we’ll never know.

Everyone is trying to get the best out this lockdown.. learning to cook, catch up on correspondences, working out, studying.. you name it.. why not add ‘making headspace’ to the list as well. This is just an idea.. the possibilities are endless..

It’s the perfect opportunity.. to change it.. to correct our doings, make amends, learn each others’ ways instead of just the figures, clean our thoughts instead of just homes, open our hearts & minds when the whole world is literally closed...

Sure, the clouds are dark, it’s rough for everybody.. there is no comparison.. but isn’t the whole point of evolution being defied if we just sit in our homes waiting for the havoc to end..like the cavemen did.. while we could be doing so much more.. there must be something..

It’s difficult to find happiness in the little things when everything else is coming down, but isn’t this what life’s all about? No one’s gonna do it for you.. You gotta do it yourself.. get off your lazy ass chair and be done with it. No matter how hard, you gotta do it.. because it’s not just a matter of this major crisis.. It’s about the little ones that’ll always be there. And who’s to say the lockdown will end on 03rd LOL.

So go ahead and find your silver lining..

And if you can't find your silver lining..

Just take the damn pen and draw one.!