The Wisdom I acquired in this Pandemic – a little dose of positivity amidst unpredictability

   I have been in ‘lockdown’ for months now, although it was not exactly a lockdown in the country and state where I stay. It was basically a ‘stay at home order’ which was not as strict as a lockdown, but I have kept myself confined to my house in the past few months, not even going out for groceries, since currently we can order them online, thanks to the online grocery services!. I will not deny that I am scared to even step out of my house in the current situation, not to mention that since I am an epidemiologist, I thoroughly understand the importance of social distancing and following it myself very religiously.  I will also admit that I am getting paranoid and anxious about my health and my loved ones’ health, grocery shopping, cleaning etc. which I guess most of us are in this current scenario, thanks to all the misinformation and over exaggerated information floating around all over the internet and media. As scientific as I am, I do not deny that I still scroll through those posts and feel outraged, emotional, sad, empathetic, scared, well you name it! However, after 2 months of riding in this rollercoaster, I am strangely getting used to the steep and sometimes dangerous twists and turns it has been taking.

 As hard as it was for me to stay in my house initially, it is becoming easier and easier day by day to the point that now I have started to become more and more comfortable staying inside my house and in my own comfort zone. Surprisingly and pleasantly I am getting pro in managing 10 different things at the same time, although with some complaining which is decreasing in quantity as well as quality each day. Here I would like to mention that I am somewhat an introvert who loves to stay inside the house as much as possible and enjoys having some ‘me time’. So for me staying at home wasn’t like a punishment, but during the current circumstances it has been a daunting task, with working from home, looking after a husband and a toddler, cooking, cleaning etc etc, with very little ‘me time’ that too if my daughter allows me to have! Like everyone else, I am reading the news about the pandemic too, which is most of the time not so positive. In addition my researcher and epidemiological brain is analyzing the pandemic numbers all over the world, which becomes even more taxing on my mental health. However, I do believe that as much as this lockdown and pandemic is scary, it has taught us very valuable lessons about ourselves and our surroundings, which will definitely be with us as long as we live. Personally I can tell you that I learned some amazing things about my own abilities as well as life in general.

1.       I have the ability to multitask and that too quiet efficiently (pat on the back!) – Well, I will admit that this was next to impossible in the beginning and always left me exhausted, but as the days went by I have started to become a pro in this one. So now I can cook, entertain my toddler, listen to music and work all at the same time! Now, I don’t know if multitasking is a healthy thing to do in general, but it is definitely a need of the hour, especially when you have little help and everything or everyone seems inaccessible at this point. It almost feels like I have acquired some superpowers in this lockdown.
2.       Staying at home can make you lazy but you can make a healthy routine if you really strive – Yes, I was very bad at making my new routine initially as I was missing the older one, which was by the way very monotonous and boring and definitely needed some makeover! On top of that my toddler turned into a night owl for which I won’t blame her since she was struggling as well, now that she was stuck with her boring parents 24/7! Slowly but steadily things are returning to a ‘new normal’ in my house and I have also made my little morning routine which I am totally in love with. I get up at 7 – 7:30 a.m, have my warm lemon water, enjoy my tea with some almonds and raisins while sitting near the window, meditate for 10-15 mins, practice my yoga and workout and then I am fresh for the day as well as ready to take on the daily challenges. Even for breakfast, lunch and dinner (which I keep simple and healthy on weekdays) I have started making a menu on weekends, which has reduced my overall cooking time to about 1 hour per day. I have also started wrapping up my dinner by 8 p.m so that I have some time to play with my daughter, put her to sleep and then spend some time on things which I like such as reading, writing or watching some good youtube videos before I finally go to bed.
3.       It is hard to stay positive in the current situation but believe me you can do it – Initially I started my day logging into my facebook and reading all the negative news about the pandemic and got worried for myself, my family, my parents and the world, which gave me morning anxiety and scary nightmares. Now that I have my routine in place, it helps me stay positive most of the day especially since I regularly practice meditation, yoga and follow my fitness regime. Although I don’t deny that I still become anxious once in a while, but I do know how to snap out of it by keeping my calm and thinking positive. Lately I am also auditing some personal development courses on happiness and positive psychology from coursera, which I am really enjoying as I was always fascinated by human mind and behavior since I was a high schooler.
4.       I have started to notice how simple things can give you immense happiness – I think everyone knows that happiness lies in simple things, at least in theory, but in reality very few actually practice it. This lockdown has given me the opportunity to cherish very simple things such as my morning tea, my daughter’s smiles and hugs, my afternoon nap, eating dinner with family in my backyard under the sky, watching a Netflix movie with my husband, talking to my parents and cousins on whatsapp. Sometimes I feel that I take these things for granted and underestimate the positive effect they have on my physical and mental well-being, but during this lockdown I have realized that I would never ever trade them for anything else in the world.
5.       I have started to feel thankful for what I have and what I don’t – It’s not that I was not thankful before, but this pandemic and the lockdown has taught me to appreciate all my possessions and my loved ones even more. It has taught me that the life is unpredictable as hell, so appreciate what you have or don’t have this moment, because you don’t know what’s in store for you the very next moment. I have learned to enjoy the unpredictability, although with a little complaining here and there, but I always keep reminding myself that life is beautiful no matter what, so cherish everything about it as long as it lasts!

Finally I noticed that after realizing and doing the things I just mentioned, I started viewing this adversity as a learning opportunity not only for me personally but for the society and the world. It is so easy to focus on the negatives maybe because negativity always seems attractive to our brain. Focusing on positivity is hard but if done then it makes the challenges of life more welcoming than threatening and that’s what I learned by living my life in the midst of a pandemic.