Back To Basic

“The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

The Pandemic has put us all in these unprecedented times, where each of us have found empty spaces in our lives that we had watchfully designed to avoid or we simply forgot about these empty spaces as we filled our lives with activities that kept us constructively busy/distracted. Covid-19 has put us back in that spot. I too, like many others have been pondering about the uncertainty it has brought along with it. Covid-19 has impacted each one of us across the globe in some manner or the other, either directly or maybe indirectly – but the impact is certain. My journey during lockdown/ home-quarantine has been a U-shaped curve, I started off – just about happy (while, being sensitive of destruction this has brought to the life of many), to me this was just a break from that fast pacing routine, it felt like summer vacations all over again. First few days, I saw myself enjoying the spare time it brought with it, these days were full of game nights with family, cooking sessions, long all night phone calls – just like college days, movie nights, just about anything and everything that was possible under the roof. Then slowly, like everything else in our lives, this routine became monotonous too, our enthusiasm dipped again and that’s where I was on the descending journey in my U-shaped curve. With new added monotony, my mind had enough time to wander in corners that I was maybe restraining myself from visiting. Suddenly, the bubble of summer vacation burst, and I was taken aback by reality. This phase of the curve, was a productivity contest with my ownself; I began telling myself, there is so much free time on my hands that I may never get again, I must pick up on all those courses that I wished to pursue, all those research papers that I have left hanging in between, to better myself on things that I lack in. This urge to be productive at all times when the world itself was topsy-turvy, it drove me towards frustration, it drove me towards the urge of wanting my normal life back. I wanted to be with my friends again, to go out and relax, basically find refuge from this hyperactive mind by engaging myself. But, guess that’s not how Covid-19 had hit us – at my whim! 😛 It stayed on..

Though, there was a rise to this descend, it’s just like when you see a dark cloud – there are not many choices one is left with, I resorted to finding my very own silver lining. When you can’t change a situation, just change your perspective towards it. And, here my silver lining was right in front of my eyes, but I happened to realise it only today. These unusual times have taken us back to the basic, they have taken us back to what we need, and pushed us towards an inward journey; A journey towards what really matters, a journey of those little joys that we forget in our day to day lives..

I have often pondered over these little joys and moments in life and how they really matter.  I really do believe that life is a collection of few infinitesimally small moments that we often forget, but these past sixty days of being quarantined at home, made me witness the joy of little things, something as simple as a drive on a good weather day with your loved ones, even when you have absolutely no destination to be – it felt like an Aha! moment, the joyous smile that I had on my face all through, for something as vanilla as a car ride, with wind gushing past my face and my favourite songs playing in the background mixed with chirrup of laughter of my brothers, it certainly became one of the best moments in two straight months! :’) I don’t remember the last time, I was in a car ride, and happy for no good reason but just the drive.

Now, lives are slowly trickling back to the new normal, and we are all progressing towards the lives we had with alterations that Covid has brought along, and here, my U-shaped curve is right in front of my eyes.. but, it still leads me back to my same old point –  What does really matter in life? The rat race that we blend ourselves in with so perfectly, the urge to do something big so as to leave a trace behind when we leave this world or to live each and every moment of our life, like a car ride – just a journey and no destination to be. Thoughts?

On side note, while I am still figuring out what matters in life – I revisited all my handmade gifts given by my friends and family on my birthdays, during my quarantine, yet again a simple joy.. but, the feeling in my heart was beyond words. Love to all these people who have contributed to my memory drawer! ❤ :’)