Slow Down a Bit…

After a late movie night, it was Saturday morning, quarter past 9 I was still sleeping. I started hearing birds chirping. The sound was trilling enough that it could wake a person from deep sleep despite the sleep piano music around her. I didn’t want to open my eyes but their incessant tweeting made me get up. I opened the blinds of the windows, saw a group of beautiful birds having their morning chit chats. After so many days of stressful morning news of how the corona virus is spreading and the forwarded messages related to it, that Saturday morning was made pleasant by their cheerful twitter. 

I looked around, the winter has passed by and it’s the spring. The morning sun rays finding its way between the buildings and trees, flowers blooming, cherry blossoms, tiny leaves growing on the trees, greenish lawns on which the squirrels and bunnies playing around giving my eyes and ears an exotic morning treat. All people are inside their houses, might be looking outside like me. The park is clear which is otherwise filled with the giggling of little boys and girls, who wakes much early on Saturdays than on the weekdays. It would be hard for them to stay inside and for the parents to make them stay. The roads are almost clear with one or two vehicles passing by in every 5-10mts. It’s getting harder for everyone except those little animals and birds. They do not have to hide in their burrows all day, or run to their burrows when they see a cycle, car or bouncing ball coming towards them. They are enjoying their time while human beings are almost self-caged. 

The last two-three months, the world has changed dramatically. All human beings irrespective of wealth, religion, color, age all are affected. The media and social networking sites are filled with the Corona virus, how its spreading, how many are affected, how to be safe, how the different countries are reacting to the same. All are asked to stay inside to which most of the people comprehend the gravity and do what they are asked to. But still there are a group of people who are preposterous enough to behave that all these are not for them and moves around causing trouble for everyone. 

I was thinking, we as human beings despite having the intelligence, or the power to think are not able to stay inside or getting harder to do the same as days pass by, how the animals and birds would have been all these times. Their lives were always threatened by the speeding cars, stomping shoes, polluted air and water. The reasoning power we are bestowed with should be used for our own safety and for others as well. Many countries thought that it would never happen to them but bam! Here it is, at their door step! And by the time they started taking necessary steps many lives have already been taken!

In an age where we have to tell Alexa and Ok Google to play birds music for relaxing, the mother nature is reminding us that stop everything, open your eyes and ears, it’s all around you. It’s time that we slow down. We were so busy, that by the end of the day we never had time for parents, husband, wife, children and not even for us. A couple of weeks back, most of us were like machines, that starts working early morning keeps moving like a robot until we come bang onto the bed at night. We used to get so exhausted that we could not even conceive that we were turning into machines. The pace of our life made us incapacitated to value the things big and small, around us. It’s then the nature thought to pull the chain and made us to slow down and stay inside.

It’s our new normal, going to be like this for a couple of months as well. It’s getting harder for everyone. The proverb says “it’s always greenish on the other side of the river” but, I believe now almost everyone feels that each and every role is getting harder day by day. The stay- at-home parents, working parents, and above all the children who just want to run and play, feels like tied up despite of the awesome weather outside. But this too will pass on. I’m a mom just like my mother, who after receiving the school calendar checks when are their holidays, vacations and looking forward to it. And when they leave to school after their holidays feels so lonely and empty. So, this is the time, enjoy the time with the little ones, cuddle them, read and learn with them and from them. These all are the different experiences that life is giving us, make utmost use of it. I know despite all these, we would feel stressed up and would need a time to sit alone, but when you feel stressed like that just think those moms and dads working in hospitals day and night away from their kids helping those affected people. They would also be thinking “when would all these get over so I could sit and have time with my kids”.

The nature is taking the time to get healed of the wounds made by us. Let us also take this time to slow down, help ourselves and thus others, enjoy the peace that the nature is having. Pray for everyone in the world, especially pray for all the hospital staff who works day and night and for everyone who has to go out from home for a living despite of this pandemic. 

This too will also pass on. So, stay inside and be safe!!