During a crisis, when we feel directionless and things do not appear to be in our control, we must remind ourselves of what our revered Bhagavad Gita, “The Song of the God” teaches us, “You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become”.
By SUMAN ARORA
Washing dishes in the kitchen and simultaneously making/ receiving official calls while working from home with the help of earphones was my routine during the absolute lockdown period.
Somehow managing with hasty cooking, and also making do with milk-cereals, noodles and bread on and off, we learned to survive being locked in for the complete lockdown period.
Our job was to stay secure inside the protective four walls of our homes which was a luxury as compared to the ‘Corona Warriors’ who have been selflessly serving humanity putting their lives in danger.
The experience of the ongoing lockdown is unprecedented for sure. Who would have thought that schools, colleges, airlines, trains, metros, road transport and all the govt. and private institutions would close down, not only in India but the world over?
Our enemy is invisible: Covid 19 virus. This catastrophe has spread its global tentacles having dangerous dimensions. Lakhs of people have been infected and thousands are no more.
The situation is such where almost everything is under lockdown to keep people safe and alive.It reminds one of those Hollywood sci-fi films where monstrous creatures go on a rampage, killing all and sundry that comes face to face or those movies showing bio weapon destruction, etc.
This is the most unprecedented situation where all the family members are under the same roof for days on end.
Adults are working from home, children are having their ‘regular online school’, no domestic help and piling up of household chores leading to chaos at the domestic level and no public transport, no regular opening of offices and a dwindling economy at the national/international level.
This is the reality and we all must learn to live with it.
Under the circumstances, things have been quite confusing and mind boggling already and the possibility of a worse scenario in June-August is not a happy news. The stress and anxiety generated by such circumstances may lead to mental and emotional health issues too.
In short, it’s time to strategize our lives to lead a near normal life during this pandemic. It is time to find ways to stay motivated during the current and any other future crisis as well.
Remain Calm and Positive: The first and the foremost thing to do in a crisis is to learn to stay calm and positive during such tough times. Staying calm and composed will surely equip us with the necessary mental equilibrium to be able to deal with this crisis. Finding ways to remain positive during such negative times is surely a difficult task but, then, that is the only option we have. Right?
In general, whenever there is a crisis in our personal or professional lives, at micro or macro level, we need to chalk out strategies for our physical and mental wellbeing because that is the root of our personal and national growth.
One must always try to find the silver lining in a given negative situation. Expecting the light at the end of the dark tunnel will always generate positive hormones. Positive thoughts will bring down your stress levels and improve your focus.
Swami Vivekananda had said, “We are what our thoughts have made us; So take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; They travel far.” The above quote teaches us to remain positive to manifest positive outcomes. So, train your mind to look for blessings in everything.
Self-Care and Feeling Good: It is absolutely necessary to take care of our emotional health along with our physical wellbeing especially during these difficult times. One can do meditation, pranayam, yogabhyas to relax oneself.