Finding the Silver Lining
I wake up to the default ring tone of my barely working cell phone. It’s 06:30am - my usual wakeup call if it were like the good old “normal” days more than a month ago. Through the intentionally left open windows, I hear the chirping of the morning birds and feel the warmth of the sunrays subtly hitting my cheeks. I jump out of bed and walk to my desk to silence my phone, which by the way, I purposefully left further away so that I may be less tempted to hit the snooze button. After a 2-minute mental debate on whether I should go back to bed for another 15 minutes (we all know 15 is never just 15) or just fight the day, I decide to do the latter. It works. I am up and ready for the day. Trust me this hasn’t worked in a while...
Mornings feel different these days. I am slower and being a morning person this feels rather strange. It is still hard to believe that all this is happening and that we are living in the middle of a pandemic!! But as human as it gets, I am slowly becoming accustomed to this new normal. How do I feel about this bizarreness becoming more and more acceptable? I am not sure…
Sometimes I am scared, scared of this new normal being the normal. How will it feel to go back? Do you ever wonder how we may get so used to working from home and doing everything online that even after the pandemic, it may be tempting to do more and more online? Will it be weird to be sitting in a lecture hall again? At the same time, as I sit in front of my screen, I wish to be in live lectures.
Each day I hear and read about people complaining about this pandemic. Whether it be in the form of memes on social media or my aunt in India ranting about working from home. Sometimes I feel like I can’t relate to all of it 100%. Yes, it is happening and yes we are in a lockdown. It might be hard to see the silver lining, but the only thing that can keep us going in the long term is to find the silver lining in these dark times.
I love seeing creativity blooming! Somehow feels like it was a kick to many artists who have been pushing away certain projects they have been wanting to work on. I am the first one to be kicked when it comes to that. I still struggle with finding time to write and read as much as I wish to, but we are slowly getting there.
Talking about creativity, I am never surprised by the new approaches we take in still getting things done in the middle of a pandemic. The most interesting experience I have had so far was when I took part in a baby shower online! Mind you, this was the first baby shower I have ever attended, and it was online. Also, did you hear of the gym trainer in Spain who conducted a training session from a rooftop? Now how motivating is it, to have your next-door neighbor take you through burpees, squats and planks, all in the middle of a pandemic!
Although not all, many families have come together to spend quality time in the middle of this crisis, and this is truly beautiful to see. As my dad says, he is thankful to Covid-19 for forcing my brother and me to spend more time at home than be meeting friends day and night. I am sure many other parents would agree to this as they sit together around the dinner table to not only share heart-warming food but also stories, memories and laughs that comfort the heart.
There is a narrow light shyly sleeking in through the doors of this pandemic. Whether we focus our sight and energy into viewing the glitters within it or we blur it out is up to us. Uncertainty and insecurity have become the new normal but that does not mean it is a period to lose hope. As cliché as it sounds, I believe that coming out of this we will be more thankful and stronger than ever. As quarantine day X passes by, maybe it is time to embrace the day and find the silver lining.
That being said I would like to extend my love to all those who have had an exceptionally tough time be it with dealing with loneliness or having someone dear to you be affected by Covid-19. It is not easy but we will get through this.
Take care everyone!
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