Journey of my thoughts during Covid — 19
I am sure none of us need an introduction to Covid-19 or Corona virus pandemic. It is as famous as Chinese noodles, interestingly, every country has its own taste or flavour. This post is my journey of thoughts in these challenging (or introspective) days.
Sympathising:
It was early days (at least for India) of Covid — 19 and only a privileged few who glued themselves to news are aware of this virus and the news was slowly catching up through news listening/reading freaks to other folks like me. Back then, during our lunch or dinner hours sipping a Chinese soup (Indian version) we sympathised with Chinese people as there was exponential growth of cases, wondering if they still eat anything that moves.
So casual and so cool:
March forth (i mean march 4th) the date was so inspirational and we were at our office space with couple of folks who travelled from Bangalore and US. Suddenly there was panic all around, an unexpected news of positive Covid case in adjacent building hit us. The facilities folks started running hither and thither arranging masks for all of us. From our windows we gazed a sight of the whole building being evacuated in less than 2 hours. I personally thought , this is an unnecessary hype, it is just a single person and the affected person is not even in the building and why all this panic?? Guys chill….
Work…but from home:
We got a mail from our office on March 13th that we should be working from home(WFH) mandatorily till 2 weeks. As far as I know our company was the first to send out a mail for WFH in Hyderabad. I was delighted , thought I could spend good time with my family, a family which includes my 3 year old daughter. So what are the tips for an effective WFH when you have 3 year old (that too girl)at home?? Nothing you have no choice you MUST WFH(Work For Her). It wasn’t easy, most of my time used to go in entertaining her, because she never knew what is being in lockdown.
Gravity of the situation:
It was on March 22nd , when our Honourable PM addressed the nation, announcing “Janta curfew” followed by a 21-days lockdown, I realised the gravity of the situation. So 21 days at home without a maid, doing all the household work including cooking, washing, mopping etc along with entertaining my 3 year old and forgot to mention also working from home…. Phew
Learnings during lockdown:
- Is it always about me:
Early days of lockdown, all my thoughts were centered around me and MY family, hoard the vegetables, pile the groceries, am I going to loose MY job, what about MY kid’s education, what about MY parent’s health, what about MY shares, what about MY insurance amount….blah blah… Then saw this below post in Facebook:
This made me think, does it always have to be about me?? It is not. This challenge called Covid-19 is something unique to the whole world, this sort of challenge none of us are prepared for, this challenge is not to individuals, it is not to specific communities, it is not to few countries, it is not to specific professions…this is a challenge to whole Human race, so we are in this together(the most common and effective statement heard from celebrities), this is the time we forget all kind of diversities and come together and support each other. Realised the above post is not at all an exaggeration, we should always count on our blessings and be grateful to the position we are in, if you are able to read this post, that itself says you are in good position.
2. Our planet — A Netflix series:
Human race, we are together in this covid- 19 crisis…wow!!! Ok cool then after this gets settled, then what? Let us begin the mad rush again?? By the way continuing above thought, is it always about us Humans alone? when we say “together” is nature inclusive of that? So recently during this lockdown period, started watching this series called “Our planet” in Netflix….this starts with below introduction
Just 50 years ago, we finally ventured to the moon. For the very first time, we looked back at our own planet. Since then, the human population has more than doubled. This series will celebrate the natural wonders that remain and reveal what we must preserve to ensure that people and nature thrive.
This series not just gives insights into wonders of the nature but beautifully explains how interconnected all beings are….like if migrated birds wants to eat fishes(not exactly fishes but some water species which are like millions and millions in number) from ocean, how nature makes it happen through whales travelling from long distances and making sure these fishes float to the surface of water…. how polar bears find their food, how birds try impress their females, what is the habitat of Antarctica, what kind of species come there and suddenly after explaining all these interconnections and wonders, the narrator says how we humans are responsible to disrupt their natural habitat…. We may take nature for granted , but we should realise it is high time we realise we are not the only species existing on this beautiful planet, we should learn to be more accommodative and respect the natural resources. I strongly recommend this beautiful series “Our planet” in Netflix.
3. True purpose of life:
As we were watching this “Our planet” series, my wife asked me why can’t we humans be as simple as those animals, be born in this world…grow along with nature, when hungry try to fetch some food, eat, sleep, progeny and be happy….? This made me think what else are we humans(majority of us) doing now than what is said about animals above? We come to this world… educate ourselves, get a job, marry, have kids, earn some money and hoard and hoard the money and try to get more and more comforts even at the cost of everything…. and then die in a hospital spending all our savings at hospital :P. Do we have a purpose in life, do we know why did we go to school? why are we going to job, why are we getting married… do we know the true purpose of our existence, first of all is there any purpose to life or our existence is just an accident?
I am no His Holiness Raghavan to comment on this but I feel there has to be some higher purpose to our Human life, each of us are capable of realising that purpose . Vedanta says true purpose of Human life is realising their own true nature….Phew get lost what do you mean by “My true nature”? OfCourse I am aware of it .. I am… ah I am…. So whatever it is, here is suggestion everyday at your own convenience spend about 10–15 mins doing nothing, no phone, no laptop, no books, no family time, nothing… just sit and reflect on these thoughts “Who am I? What is my purpose?”
4. Action in inaction, inaction in action:
Spending 10–15 mins in a day you may think is no big deal, but believe me, it is not easy. Whoever was able to sit for 15 mins doing nothing for 1 week continuously , please comment below, will give a special gift to you :). But the reason why this is difficult is we get so attached to our daily chores or actions that we cannot get them out of our mind even for small time. So Bhagawad Geeta teaches us beautifully how can we be free though we are rigorously working day in and day out. Will share a more detailed post on my learnings from Karma yoga chapter of Geeta in my next post.
So these are some of the lessons learnt during this lockdown period and because of this current crisis or opportunity (whatever way you choose to see). Do you also have anything to share? Please comment below. Be safe, Be accommodative and Be super duper happy always.
