Fun to Philosophy – My Journey during Lockdown!

Ours is a large family and we are 8 siblings, all senior citizens except me. That means children are all settled down and the couples are free to enjoy their retired life. With 6 of us settled in Bengaluru, it was like a dream come true because we had never had so much time for each other during younger days. So what was the effect of Lockdown on us, here is how we coped it and finally the outcome!

Before the Pandemic entered our lives!

The main attraction of our life was to meet each other which was almost every day, have get-to-gathers as often as possible, travel in big groups whenever possible and so on. These meetings were fn-filled and most memorable. Cooking was an important aspect of our meetings. We shared our childhood memories, made fun of ourselves, discussed all topics barring none. The discussions were creative, refreshing, and fun too. As we were welcoming the year 2020, rumors of a virus spreading were making rounds and it was a topic of our discussions too. The virus did not hinder our daily activities for some time.

Then suddenly corona cases started rising and a one-day curfew was clamped. We welcomed it and enjoyed it. We thought it was just one-day curfew, stood in our homes, and clapped happily.

The shock of Lockdown – Unheard Way of Life

The next big shock was that of the lockdown and everything comes to a standstill. The initial impression was that only traveling will be out of our lives for some time. But then came the bigger shock, that moving out of the house was also banned! Yes, it was lockdown time!

This was also happily accepted initially and we started chatting on phones. Cleared our backlog of household works, cleaned all the corners, washed the bedsheets, cleared the wardrobes. Experimented some new dishes in our kitchens and shared pics.

Slowly this enthusiasm reduced and restlessness and irritation started making their way into our hearts. The fact that we could not go out at all was very difficult to manage. Our favorite meeting place, the park in our layout was locked down. Temples were closed, no eateries, no shopping. While humans were feeling sad for all this, on the other side nature was dancing.

The world started becoming a better place to live in!

With traffic coming to a halt, the air was getting purified, trees started smiling, birds started enjoying freely without much human threat. Unseen species of birds were sighted in cities. Rivers got cleaner as there was no human abuse on them. It made me feel like nature is rejuvenating itself from all the abuses the humans have done to it. So nature must have thanked Corona!!

Cooking was not an issue for me, but the thought of how to put my extra time to best use was bothering me.

I started watching some old movies, but soon that desire waded. I stitched some masks and distributed it to those who asked in my circle. I started working on my blog and improved it a lot. I also started dedicating more time for Yoga and Meditation.

A slow drift towards Spirituality – Positive effect of Corona!

During this time, I came across Bhagavata Pravachana on Youtube and listened to it for some time. It was pretty interesting and enlightening. That became a daily bedtime routine, to listen to Bhagavata Pravachana for at least an hour before sleeping.

By listening to Bhagavata, I learnt things such as;

1. How to deal with life.
2. The fear of corona vanished but that does not mean we can be careless, but I learnt to accept life as it comes.
3. How to attain mental balance and peace
4. How to overcome fears
5. Why we should follow the good path despite many difficulties we face in that path.
6. What is God? Yes, I got answer to this basic question. I was always in a dilemma whether to believe in God, and questions like Does God really exist? Haunted me always.

Now the perspective of seeing life has changed. I am happier and have more inner peace. My attention towards materialistic things is changing, though slowly.

Couple got more time for each other!

The best part that Corona lockdown brought into our lives was myself and my husband could spend time for each other. We had not done this in our 37 years of marriage, we were always busy with other family members, siblings, work, etc. With all these coming to a halt, it was time to care for each other and come to a better understanding with each other. It was absolutely fun and I felt glad we got this opportunity in our lifetime. All these facts made coping with corona lockdown easier and pleasant.

Finally – should we thank Corona?

Corona lockdown has put many people into difficulty, but it has taught us a lesson that nothing is permanent. It has taught us the value of health and food, value of life, and love. It has also taught us to appreciate how blessed we are. We should always compare ourselves with the lesser privileged to know how blessed we are.

A story goes like this – A boy was feeling bad that he did not have a good pair of shoes. Then his mother showed him a boy who had no legs. This made the boy realize how blessed he was.

Now the lockdown is getting released in phases, but to get back to normal life may take a long time. Most of us might have shifted our minds permanently with regard to some aspects like spirituality, attitude towards life, towards nature, which will stay with us for life.

The Blog train THE PANDEMIC THAT CHANGED OUR LIFE UPSIDE DOWN initiated by blogger Ila Varma  to bring the bloggers together to share numerous experiences of #pandemiclockdown2020.

Thanks to Bhawna Shah for writing her experience of how it was to cope with the Lockdown. ‘Lockdown Period has unclocked our minds’ – Very True.

The next article would be from our fellow blogger – Archana Srivastava from Archus Blog – “Live the Life” who will share her experience about Lockdown.

#quarantineedition   #pandemicdiaries2020

#positivityinlockdown #quarantineparenting