Locked in but Living

It's the 19th of June, 2020. Life has been an "indoor" rollercoaster ride for the human civilization since the past 5-6 months. Humans are halfway into 2020 and it has been one hell of a year. We have seen, learnt, observed, forgotten, remembered, reflected, mulled over, phased out, bored, tired and what NOT! Indeed a year of mixed emotions. It feels like a party you weren't invited to but HAD to go.

We have watched numerous movies and series about apocalypse and deadly viruses and wondered what we would do if those things actually happened with us. But now, we know. Because we have been reeling under the very effect of it. A virus, so small and microscopic brought the human civilization to a complete stand still. Made it question it's choices and locked everybody in. Even the nomad who never stood still, bowed before it!

The corona virus and it's potential spread led to an almost worldwide lockdown. People were asked not to venture out of their houses, take precautions and curb the spread.

But what did we learn during the lockdown? we learnt to Live. Before all this, our life felt simpler, but was it so? we were so lost within the chaos of the monotonous daily life, that we forgot what it was to live! Half of our lives went in working, the other in doing stuff we could not do while we worked. We forgot about hobbies and interests.

How did we learn to live though? We all learnt it the hard way. Since humans started being at home, seismologists recorded a reduce in the earth's vibrations. The earth slowed down, healed, breathed! It took a microscopic organism to do what environment activists could never do! Teach humans not to take nature for granted! We lost a few good artists throughout the world, their passing too teaching us something we may have overlooked or taken for granted all this while. The value of not only hearing, but listening!

We spent time with our families, we argued, we loved, we did all those things together that we never would have! we baked, we painted, we prayed, we visited our old hobbies, we cooked, we dived into nostalgia! And most importantly, we hoped! Hoped each day for life to go back to normal! We also realised what boredom does and learnt a lesson not to take time spent outside for granted ever again!

Many of us lost out on the outdoor birthday fun we could have had with our friends, had a lockdown birthday but it was altogether a new experience for us. Our friends and family made it special in all ways they could. We realised that all those hours spent in travelling could be spent in talking a few words of love with our close people. Some of us realised what being distanced from loved ones feels like, what joy comes in being away from that toxic co worker or boss! Many of us who lost loved ones to the deadly disease could never give them a proper goodbye. There we realised the importance of a proper farewell.

Humans learnt a lot of lessons about life, the small joys of it, the wee sorrows of it, we know now that life is not only a rush of sweet, but also a tingle of spice in between all that sweetness.

We still have half of 2020 ahead of us and even now, all we can do is hope and pray and protect ourselves and our loved ones....