Covid-19 has been a challenging time for all. It has already lasted much longer than many expected, and it seems the virus will stay with us for quite a while. Instead of falling into the trap of doom and gloom, I decided early on to focus only on the positive.
When I did this, I found out that this period of lockdown and physical isolation opened up so many opportunities. I didn’t have to commute to work, I had perfect freedom to work from home and, finally, I was in charge of my own life. This had never happened before.
I could get up a little later, leave work early and suddenly, I had time to do so many things that I always wanted to do. Thanks to social media, I was in touch with the entire world. I could call friends and relatives anywhere in the world and chat with them on WhatsApp. I could FaceTime with people, Zoom helped me connect with friends as though we were having a party.
I could plan out my day, starting with yoga, and ending with meditation. There was no more eating out, and my wife and I started eating much better home-cooked food. We could go for long walks, away from crowds. All this had a positive impact on physical and mental health.
There was no need to do much physical shopping, apart from the basics such as groceries. We also discovered the joys of online shopping. In any case, we didn’t need much more in the way of clothing, we were not going to any parties or any formal events. We did, however, need more walking shoes, and these, we ordered on-line.
All this time, I had strong support from my wonderful wife. Together, we have made the journey through this crisis, keeping each other good company. Our love has grown stronger, and it is the strongest possible support for our physical and mental health.
It was a time for introspection and for simplifying our lifestyle. We discovered the joys of music. The internet gives you so many choices, you can find almost any type of music on-line. I developed a taste for Sufi music; YouTube has such wonderful Sufi music, with captioning, so that we can understand what we hear. It has all other kinds of music, and my wife and I enjoyed so many styles, ranging from Indian classical music to Jazz, as well as the latest trends in fusion.
Covid-19 has helped us develop empathy and compassion. We hear about the bad things happening all over the world due to Covid 19 and our hearts go out to all the people who suffer. We do our bit to help, giving whatever little we can to charities and to people in need.
If we look at the positives, this is a great time for personal growth. I developed my writing skills, blogging on sites like Youth Ki Awaaz. This is probably one of the best blogging sites, giving me the freedom to write on any topic, helped by a few useful prompts. It helps me re-discover myself, and keeps me connected with the youth all over India.
This is the best of times and this is the worst of times, as a famous author once said. If we look at the positives, we can improve our mental health and make this the best of times. Just remember, these days will never come back.