Heal The World..

There is a big Peepal tree outside my balcony , branches almost at hand's distance from my window. I stand at window these days , more often than earlier . By 'earlier ' , I mean prior to lockdown time. I get to see number of beautiful birds chirping around and cute little squirrels running after each other. Many a times , they visit my window to eat nuts , I keep for them and drink water. Little further away , I see overhead bridge which used to be blocked by traffic jams, from early in the morning and continue till late nights.  The surrounding areas are quiet ,  calm and peaceful . At times I feel I am breathing much cleaner air and get to see some twinkles in the sky in the night. Otherwise , I will spend lots of money, visiting some places away from city's clamour , in search of such peaceful environment.  What I get to hear without fail is temple bells, Azaan and ambulance sirens. 

     Covid 19 Pandemic declared by WHO,

then the lockdowns announced by most of the countries at various levels and everything came to a big ' halt '. Everyone  jailed in the house,  no going out,  no outdoor playing, no schools,  colleges,  no hotel visits,  no picnics no,  no,  no for everything. Avoid humans as much as possible.  What do I  feel at this time, what are my activities, what are my worries, what are my concerns, what are 

my options and opinions , what are my

responsibilities and duties , what can I do to remain healthy physically and mentally , how can I help people around me? Number of questions in mind , but no straight answers. Number of emotions,  but not enough venting. 

There are many more but I try consciously not to overthink, because I read somewhere , " Overthinking leads to negative thoughts

 in the end" . The one and only question asked about is, "When will this Pandemic get over? "..And the answer...? 

No one knows.  No certain estimated time specified. 

Ten months down,  lockdowns are eased, 

people are moving out, some returning to job if not lost one, some in search of new jobs. People are tired and frustrated being in-house for longer duration. Some have suffered from Covid and recovered,  some have lost their near and dear ones, some are fearing for contracting  virus,so on and so forth.  Many have ended own life. Many have left city ,many have not come to terms with altered life style,many have lost hope,  many are afraid of bleak future.  Mind is full of horrific pictures of covid patients at hospitals, disturbing news circulated in media,  no.of covid deaths etc.  Mostly,  negativity and despair is prevailing. Sufferings are highlighted. What more to say?  Even deities are under knockdown.

 

 But,  I believe, human mind is extremely resilient. A wonderful search engine. Keeps exploring and experimenting. Tries best to recover and restructure despite all unfavorable conditions around.  Helps in healing self as well as others, physically and mentally. That's human being and being human. 

Everyone is under tremendous stress. Still life continues. Hats off to our Covid warriors.  I saw people in the community,  coming together to help the needy in number of ways. Many set the small shops nearby selling veggies,  groceries etc irrespective of what they were doing prior to  pandemic.  Many supplied food to building security,  paid domestic helper though absent from work, donated food,  money,  sanitizers , masks, etc . Best side is talents of various kinds are making show on social media.  Some sing,  some cook,  some teach,  some spread positivity through talk and writing,  some became painters . I found  this very intriguing.  It's a wonderful quality of humans, that can accommodate lot even if the space is limited.  Pacify even if there is hurt inside. Share even if there is little. Feel good and let feel good. I know it makes difference. May be slowly. I pray to God and offer, even if I don't see Him.  Then why not offer whatever I can to His children,whom I can see around me? 

A smile,  a little happiness,  a small effort to make things easy for someone else is need of hour. A giver is definitely not going to lose anything drastically.  A Dr. known to me, recovered cancer patient herself,  wrote an inspirational blog for her group  for 100 consecutive days spreading immense positivity during strict knockdown. My young nieces,  one started painting,  one baking, another writing blogs. My one close kin,  gathered few ladies and taught them to make sanitizer and sell , also start tiffin service because their husbands lost jobs.  Another friend of mine offered her health center for Covid care,  free of cost, supplied food for covid warriors. A doctor whose clinic I rented, slashed rent by more than 50% for me. I collected sanitizer for my friend's NGO through my contacts who willingly helped me,  and fed 5 of my building watchmen for 3 full months day and night single handedly. We all saw on TV the tales of generosity and philanthropy. God bless them all. What a nice way of caring. 

This shows that human mind can win over evil happening around.  Can conquer negativity.  All that is needed is our actions. Actions which will  have beautiful impact and yield something more beautiful, something that will touch someone's life with love and compassion. It's said that if you do something for someone,  don't tell anyone. Why not tell?  I feel when I help someone and I tell others about it,  I may become an inspiration,  others will come ahead to offer more help whichever way possible.  So why not tell?  But,  yes,  I  don't boast about it.  And what I get in return is pure happiness and good sense of responsibility .

 

  Pandemic will get over some day. It has to. Life will get back to normal,  may be new normal, they say. Everyone will have something to  remember,  something to forget.  Calculations of what is lost and what is gained will be carried out for long time. Bittersweet events will be tallied many times. Why not train our minds to filter out only what is sweet and look forward for a  simple satisfied life on individual scale? 

Shraddha Dcunha.