And a Few More Days to Go...(But for how Long??)...

Ever since the lockdown was initiated, the big question has been "When is it going to end?" How long till we can get up and about the normal life we are so accustomed to? That is still the question today as we carry on through a second extension of the lockdown. If I may say so, it is like further extending the ticking time on a bomb waiting to explode. Just that in this case, it is a desperate bomb of people waiting to run out into the streets and immerse themselves in the business of life again. I will leave the analysis of such a scenario to others though I do hope that the eventual lifting of the lockdown does not throw the town into a frenzied celebration.

I want to rather think of how I am living in these days. Am I living well (with a good spirit) despite the inconveniences? Am I living with gratitude (for I know many are not as fortunate as me)? Am I living with fortitude (rather than complaining and getting dragged into some long winded discussions)? Am I living with open ready hands (rather than being tightfisted)?

The reason I want to think on these lines is twofold: one, because I am in the making; and two, I want to be able to inspire. So first, these are difficult times, these are testing time (but I know many others have it harder than me) and in these times we will continue to grow, that is a given. We cannot and will not stop growing. Far more important is the manner and direction of growth: are we seeing this as an opportunity to grow stronger or are we chaining ourselves as victims? Yes, I wish things were different, but this "unusual" phase of life has its own lessons to teach. I am still in the making and that also means embracing hardships (though in this case I seem to be thrown into a mess of global proportion). Second, almost a month has gone by and most of these times have been rather dull. As I look back there have been boring, lazy, long days (though sometimes these days seem to go by very quickly). I chanced upon a video of a child asking his dad to tell him the story of the virus again. This set me to thinking, what will I tell future generations? No, I am no Hero with great feats and deeds (I am no frontliner) but I do and will always have a small space where I can share wisdom gained and gleaned over the years. I do not wish to upstage those who are in the thick of the current battle, they have a deeper story to tell. But I want to play my part and there is one thing I want to be good at, I want to inspire. But that calls for me to be pursue a good course of action (albeit it sometimes making mistakes, but learning from them) in the first place and so I try to live well.

A few more days, and hopefully all this will go away (or maybe it will stay around for some more time) but the lessons learned and being learned, whether big or small, will remain. I hope we all continue to live through this (and one day finish) on the good side (and also be responsible to rectify the errors of the past, but that is a different story for another time).