written by Vaidehi Tewari
Just when we thought things are getting better, they got worse. Again, we are back to a time where we fear stepping outside. Recently I and my father got diagnosed with Covid and we are just trapped in our rooms. As I experienced this sickness by myself one thing that is worst about this disease is you cannot hug your loved ones and fight with it together. These last few days were so negative that I had to constantly keep me sane by forcefully doing stuff and keeping me busy. Imagine people with higher infection levels who are admitted to the ICUs and imagine the plight of their family members. It feels like we are losing hope day by day. It feels like we would be caged for a much longer time than expected.
I see people fretting out over Covid-19 every day. Series of tragic events happen daily. It is like waking up to some weirdly sad news articles that have become the new normal. Whether it is deaths due to Covid, gas leakage, accidents, hunger, the list continues. Fear of death is a commonality amongst us. A daily wage earner cannot decide whether to fear corona or joblessness because death is on both ends for this person. But, is death something to be feared off? I guess the answer is both a No and a Yes. No, it should not be feared because death has always tried to keep us grounded. It has made us appreciate the simple things in life. However, we never realized this fact until Covid hit us with this reality. So, in a way, fear of death has made us closer to many real things which we had ignored earlier. We have started to value each moment with our family more. We embrace waking up with a healthy body and mind. We value a hug from our loved ones more.
So, in a way, this fear of death helps in being grateful. Yes, it should be feared by those who constantly plan and think about the future and kill their present. Here, I am referring to people having anxiety about the future. Let me tell you that I am not against rational planning that involves basic plans.
With all this negativity around us, why don't we take a moment and look at the positive aspects of this social distancing culture? Was death always a fact of life? Yes. Did we still always embrace every moment of our life? No. Do we embrace each moment more now? Yes. Did we get enough time to spend with our loved ones? No. Do we spend more time in meaningful conversations with them now? Yes.
So I guess this social distancing has just opened our eyes and has burst our bubble of a perfect and predictive future. It has taught us that we cannot take the simplest things like strolling in a garden for granted. It is a fact that life will never go as planned. This pandemic has just given us a perfect illustration of how uncertain life could be. There is no need to freak out that death is around the corner because it always was and it will always be. During these times, we need to take all the precautions that we can. We can try to stay positive and happy by supporting the needy as much as possible, devoting our time to meditation, and spending more time with our loved ones. While I was in quarantine I missed watching the clear blue skies, the night skies, watching my little planters blooming with flowers on them. I missed these simple little things. Now, the pain of not being able to plan a Goa vacation recently seems less severe! I cannot wait to step out and breathe fresh air.
I have imbibed in me the age-old belief of death is written since the moment you are born. This fact must cross our minds before creating unnecessary panic and negativity for ourselves and the people around us. We will take the pre-decided breaths, neither a single more nor a single less. No force can stop us from that. Think about those incidents whereby people survived a deadly accident and then compare it with sudden and simple deaths that just happened out of the blue. Rings some bells?
All I want to say is try to live life fully, irrespective of the chaos happening around. Be alive and present at each moment. Let's stop taking life for granted and embrace all the little things that give us joy. Being grateful could be the passkey to stay happy in these troublesome times.
written by Vaidehi Tewari