My flat is close to a busy road. The annoying sound of vehicles is a continuous disturbance in my house. Suddenly it all changed. The noise that bothered me so much has stopped completely. The effect of Corona virus has also engulfed our locality, as it has done to the whole world. Thankfully, I have came across recently, a new concept-the concept of Slow Living. Slow Living in the backdrop of Corona Virus Lock Down has found a new chapter altogether.
Due to this Lock Down our daily moving has been shifted from miles to the square fits of our homes.For People, like me, who stays outside for 12 to 13 hours in a day, it is very difficult to adjust to this new situation. But after the initial disbelief and shocks, I started to adopt to this situation. I found my solace in the art of Slow Living. I started to realize the concept of Slow Living in my daily hours.
My mornings now starts with cheerful birds songs. Something that was unthinkable before. Trees around my windows look more greener than ever before. Or may be I have started to notice them more carefully. Even the weather has changed a lot. With pollution level dipping down, April is not so unbearable as before. As if Nature also triggered its reset button while in Lock Down.
I also began to learn new skills. I make sure that nothing in my home goes wasted. Excess foods are kept with more care than before for future reuse. I have enough time to devote to my culinary skills. But there is a shift in my taste. My favorite ‘Chicken Biriyani’ started to lose its attractiveness, thinking the time and labor I have to give to prepare it. Simple home made foods are much more palatable than ever before.
Gradually, I started to own my time and space. By daily routine has been much more predictable than before. I am devoting much time for myself. Reading and writing was my favorite past time,which I began to indulge after long time. In my busy life, it was never possible to keep in contact with my relatives and friends. But now, we are all in a regular contact with each other. I am concerned for their health and well-being. I am looking forward for days when we could all meet in person. This would be a celebration- Celebration for Humanity.
As nature triggered its reset button, so do we. I am like all others are concerned for those who could not afford foods now due to Lock Down. Government agencies, NGOs and even common people like us are coming forward to help them. Humanity is coming back to its true nature.
This threat to destroy our human race is actually acting as a catalyst for reviving our Humanity. We are evolving into a better being. We are learning to enjoy simple pleasures of Life. I too, am learning that even a over cooked dish taste amazing than a cappuccino in a shopping mall. Because I have put my time and labor to prepare it.
I know soon Life will start with same pace and challenges. And I am, like all others are eagerly anxious to embrace it. But I also hope that the experiences that we gathered over the last few weeks could help us to eliminate the essentials from the non-essentials.
