‘Every cloud comes with a silver lining’. In the current scenario cloud is covid19 and the silver lining comes in the form of lockdown. I do agree this lockdown doesn’t comes with a privilege for all and will talk about that too but would like to begin with the positive side. I forgot the last time my alarm clock was off duty. I woke up at my own pace, made my herbal tea and sat quietly by my window appreciating the chirping birds. It was as if they were celebrating our detention. In the empty streets the animals are roaming about freely as if to reclaim their own territory.
Here I will share some tips regarding how to make the best use of this lockdown period. Everyone has surely come with their own ideas of handling their boredom but here just sharing my thoughts to it.
1. Learn a new a language- Learning a new language is always fun. This helps build up a rapport in personal or professional relations, which language you want to learn is totally your choice. Some may prefer to learn Indian language to aid them in client handling whereas some may go for foreign language. Either ways it will be a good investment of the lockdown period.
2. Indulge in some exercises and meditation- Everyone knows about the benefits of meditation and exercises inspite of that how many times have you noticed yourself saying no time to practice it. So this time is for you. Take the first steps towards leading a healthy life. 21 days is scientifically proven to fix a habit. So if you start now to dedicate you have a good chance to continue it even after the things return to normal as that will be imbibed in your system till then.
3. Experiment with cooking- Now that the resources are little limited try creating a magic dish with these for foodies is surely not a difficult task. With most of the online fooding services shut this is the time to awaken the chef in you. You never know when you come up with an extraordinary dish or a taste of your own and again for all the people who are in habit of indulging with fast foods, now is the time to streamline your life with some healthy options explore the taste of home made food.
4. Create a YouTube channel or blogging site- I wont say to do this for business but atleast for now you can start with showcasing some talents of yours like singing, recitation, dance, reviews of products or books and may be you can upload your cooking ideas too.
5. Gardening-This is a great time to set up your own kitchen garden so that you can enjoy your own garden produced organic fruits later.
6. Join some relevant online classes-Once you start with jobs its not easy to keep up with academics. There are many online platforms now offering various certificate courses both paid ones and free. It will be a good utilization if you can enroll yourself in some courses of your interest.
7. Try some photography or paintings-Plan a theme and get some good snaps. It can serve both as memories and can be used later for showcasing your skills too. Though I prefer going through the old photo albums, now that everything is digitalized somehow I feel that fun of turning the album pages is lost. Each photo reminds you of the associated memories. you might also try for painting, it serves the purpose too
8. Enagage in reading or writing-This remedy has never failed for me. Nowadays all the books are available online in digital format. So you are just a click away from owning a book. Apart from this there are few apps which has a good collection of free books, you can opt for that too. And if you are more of the writer types now is the time to grab a pen and a notebook and pen down your beautiful thoughts.
9. Spend some quality time with your family-In the fast racing life we often tend to take our family for granted but that’s not how it works. Now that you have the time, do make up for the lost time. Connect with your family, play with your children and pets. Many must have forgotten the last time they spend some quality time with their family. Quality time doesn’t necessarily means an abroad tour alongwith a business meet. It even means watching a good movie together, watch your children grow up, help your spouses, be there for your parents.
10. Value life-This is not an activity but you can call it some kind of self realization. The earth has enough for our needs for not for our greeds. Now with the little resources you must surely have understood till date it was only your lifestyle that was demanding just huge expenses, a simple living do not need as much. Appreciate the little things in life. Career is certainly important but not at the cost of your family time and your happiness. If you are home you should really feel lucky. Dont forget not all have the liberty to be home.
11. Be grateful to God-If you are home, safe and getting your daily meals, do not forget to thank your God. Might be the shrines have closed but was God really there? God is everywhere, it does not need a specific location for its being.
During this lockdown period it is very obvious to develop mental disorders like depression, frustration etc. So if you can engage yourself in some activities the time will pass and you also get a chance to develop your talents. Not every person is thinking to get back to their normal mode of life some are worried about their survival too. I am talking about the daily wage workers, though the government is trying to help them but these people are not as educated. They really fail to understand the grievousness of corona, all they understand is if they don’t earn a day they get nothing to eat the other day. Its a request to all if you have sufficient for yourself and can manage a little more kindly help these people in need. There are pets who are starving because of no food. There has been no evidence of transfer of corona virus from these pets so please do not abandon your pets and feed them if possible. Corona is surely is a calamity but for many it is a blessing in disguise. For all you people who needed a short break to rediscover yourself, here is the opportunity make it count. If you are being asked to stay home, consider yourself lucky as the health worker, police, sweeping staffs cannot go home even if they want to. They are risking their life to protect you, the lest you can do is stay home and stop contributing to the increasing numbers. I pray that those of you reading this may utilize this time to achieve great things in life and be safe. These difficult times comes in order to impart the best lessons in life. Learn those lessons and evolve as a better human being. This earth belongs as much to the plants and animals as it is to us.
Stop behaving as the superior most creature and live in harmony cherish the moments you have today for you never know tomorrow.
Author: Dr.Pooja Chakraborty
Student, M.Sc Forensic Odontology
Gujarat Forensic Sciences Univeristy
