A Few Learnings

While it is witty and even pithy to start a blog post with a title like ‘Love In The Time Of Corona’ as a take off on the famous novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, this is also a time of a bit of reflection even if done intermittently.

Full disclosure though- I did not read the novel. Am unlikely to pick it up anytime soon. The last big fat novel I read was LOTR and that was because the guy I liked at the time gave it to me and said, “Read it! It has tons of stuff you’ll like!” Since he gave me my first Harry Potter book and started a life-long connect with the character, I thought it would be a safe bet to go with his reco. Umm…yes and no. I *did* enjoy reading LOTR but enjoyed the movies way more and Golum is permanently etched on my brain cells and so are the memes about “precious”. So yeah, some takeaways do last long.

Getting back to the matter at hand- few things bring us together or expose our foibles like adversity. While certain people prove that they are inherently troopers and will always rise to the occasion and get stuff done, others show that they are vapid and generally have not much to contribute barring churning the mud like bottom-feeders and just cloud things up. And in case this sounds like a serious indictment on people, it is!

There’s plenty wrong to be wrought at times of adversity by sharing information at the wrong time, at the wrong way and for the wrong reasons. Here are a few things that have been becoming clearer to me as time goes by:

• Who you’re with during times of crises help you understand who the people are you want around for keeps.
• Family bonding, even under forced situations, is an opportunity to teach our kids about life, how to roll with unexpected changes and also how to ask for help.
• What is enough- this cannot be stressed upon too much. On a daily basis, the things I indulge in, can be pared down to the bare minimum that I decide I can survive on happily instead of the sheer quantity that we choose to surround ourselves with.
• The intrinsic value that we place on objects, activities that shape our lives- daily and in the long run.
• Communication and that too the proactive and genuine kinds, has taken a backseat to the prepackaged, mass-targeted messages we circulate in the name of “being in touch”.
• A helping hand doesn’t take too long to extend and neither does it cost anything but can exponentially add to the feeling of ” I did my part”.
• Learning to prioritise is a skill that needs to be learnt and relearnt throughout our lives and we kind of let it lapse by doing mainly the things which seem urgent/important majority of the times.
• Gratitude cannot be taken too light. Ever. I’m not talking about the kinds which makes you drop on your knees and start believing in the Galactic Ameba but the kind that truly makes you value yourself and your life. It does help put the shitty stuff in perspective.

So, while it may not be “love” in the time of Corona, it’s definitely been learning and a realisation that some things truly help the world turn- I’m of course referring to the Almighty Coffee Bean! What?!! did you think I could let a whole somber post go by and not revert to some levity? Pshaw!

Stay safe, keep the loved ones close and but not enough that you cough and sneeze on them. Just enough that when you reach out, there they are.

Salut.