...maybe together we can get somewhere!

10 points on Life in the time of #coronavirus #covid19 

1. Work from home isn’t all that bad ?? What it really requires is discipline and commitment to work that you are expected to do. This is the future and that’s where the world is headed. Look at the benefits

• Currently no traffic and if this becomes the way we operate in future, then less traffic, which means lesser pollution
• Lesser consumption of electricity which means opportunity to make it available to those who don’t have access to it 
• Lesser investment is creating elaborate infrastructures, which means more capital to deal with crisis situations
• It gives you time for things beyond work that you are interested in. Being with family. Pursuing a hobby, Reading. Watching that movie that you have been wanting to for a long time. And, a lot more!
• So, we’re already doing most of it. Isn’t that cool!

2. Small things make a big life! It’s the lockdown and not the work from home scenario, in most cases, that’s making people anxious. The inability to step out. Inability to meet your friends. Inability to eat at your favourite restaurant. Inability to walk around tuning into a personally curated playlist. It’s the small things that we are missing. And, as they say it’s the small things that make a big life. Things that we don’t pay much attention to are the things that we are missing the most and that’s what is making us restless. So, when we are back to our “normal life”, let's start paying more attention to small things.

3. New found respect for house help. And, also for all those people who relentlessly do these “mundane” household chores on a daily basis. It takes time, patience and skills to cook decently well. It takes physical strength to clean, wash & clean again. Making a good cup of tea is also an art. Don’t take any of this for granted. Don’t feel entitled for any of it.

4. Empathy will lead the way. If we don’t want the world to crumble in front of us, we need to start empathizing more. We need to really start understanding people and not judge them. Have we ever thought of what would the lockdown be like for a person who lives in an abusive family, for someone who is in an abusive relationship, for an old person living alone who is unable to process this information overload, unable to comprehend what’s going on, daily wage earners and many more people like them.  They are dealing with a lot more than any of us can imagine but as people we have become so self – involved, so insular that we are troubled because we are bored and we cant do much because of COVID-19 resulting in a worldwide lockdown. There are lots of people who may come out absolutely broken after this lockdown. Let's do whatever we can, in our own capacity, to help them whenever we come across any of them. And, in general lets empathies more!

5. Do things for yourself. We have constantly been told or made to believe that we aren’t important, others are. What we feel about us is not important, what others feel about us is. Not many of us do things that make us happy. This is genuinely the time when all of us need to focus on ourselves. So, if you wake up one morning and want to dress up, please go ahead and do that. Wear that cool shirt, put on that red lipstick, stay at home, look at yourself in the mirror and don’t forget to say “ How dare you! Tumhara koi haq nahi banta ki tum itne khoobsurar dikho”. As I write this I am dying to paint my nails. Unfortunately I don’t have nail paints at home.

6. Talk to people who matter. Make sure you make that video call to your family (those who aren’t staying with them), friends, partner (if they aren’t with you) and just talk. Actually, sometimes you don’t even need to talk, especially if it’s a video call. Continue doing your work and just look at each other. Sounds creepy but its therapeutic. Try it!

7. Give music a chance. As a 20 something I often wondered are there people in this world who do not enjoy music? Are there people who do not switch on their transistor, music system etc when they wake up in the morning ? To me music means a lot. It nourishes your soul. Gives hope. Energy. Especially in dark times, music is like having a constant therapist around. So, if you re feeling lonely, sad, troubled. give music a chance. Trust me, RD Burman, Rahman, Tracy Chapman, Queen can together cure many illnesses. 

8. Be brave! As Rilke said “ let everything happen to you. Beauty and Terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” Just remember this on nights when anxiety is keeping you awake, when you’re troubled about your work, when you haven’t had a good day. Fact that no feeling is forever can be a reassuring thought in these times.

9. Read or watch. You have more time for yourself, choose what you like, but you must invest in stories. Like music, stories give you hope, heal you, make you happy, empathetic and play a very important role in changing and shaping your worldview. Stories are powerful, now you know why they want to ban stories that challenge the status quo. Please do yourself a favour pick up some good books or watch some classics.

10. Relax! “Woh din nahi rahe toh yeh din bhi nahi rahenge” Things will change. Life will change. Things will start looking up again!