Corona — The Virus or Antivirus

As I Sit here with my ‘Glass Half Full’, don’t get me wrong, I’m no expert in the aesthetics of social theory/life, on second thought, the word I’m looking for is a Philosopher! I’m just one of those realists confronted with the frightening reality of a vastly depleted liquor cabinet. An un-documented side effect of a pandemic that has us closeted in our homes. One, I’m sure, plenty more like me, are suffering.

Having more than enough time on our hands is a situation not many people are accustomed to. The life we have been living, right until now, has not prepared us for it. But, then again, are we even allowed to complain? As slaves of the ‘Routine’……I think not!

Who am I to judge?! Being one of them myself. The beauty of this situation is the realization that no matter how ‘locked down’ we are, our minds are still the ‘free spirits’ they always were. It all boils down to how we interpret the situation, we can either let the situation exploit us or, ride this wave of ‘opportunity’ to turn the tides in our favor.

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not calling this global pandemic an opportunity! All I’m referring to, is probably the only positive in this situation. The availability of excess time!

A luxury that, no one has had the experience of. People from all walks of life, whether the privileged or the underprivileged, have always had this one common complaint, I guess that is what unites the classes. I hope you see the dim light of positivity, beaming up in this glim scenario as well. Case in point for the argument I’m here to make. One can always find some hope or positivity in most situations. Accepting the same, well…..that’s a whole different story! I guess that depends on whether your ‘Glass is half full or empty’…..

Circling back to my thoughts, the ones my ‘free-spirited’ mind has been pondering over, these last few days…..I’ve had an epiphany of some kind! In the absence of my daily chaotic schedule, and the time rush I’ve been used to, my mind has been learning to navigate through the clarity that comes with these simpler times. It has given me the sense to ponder over the daily shenanigans. As organized as that sounds, I’m only referring to the daily chores, that we have finally taught ourselves to manage.

Let me point out the irony of the situation here. We have been staying indoors, spending time with our family, and ourselves (thanks to the excess time with family). Eating home-cooked food, that most probably, you have only just learned to cook, instead of fine dining and take-out meals. In most cases, work seems to have slowed down and we now find ourselves realizing that we have been procrastinating for so long, that we have forgotten we had a passion that we hoped to pursue at some point in life.

But this corona situation has finally got me to put pen to paper and prove a point here!

These ‘pearls’ gushing through my head, might not seem as lustrous to another mind, considering they’re nothing but an irritant or parasites, that have worked their way into the ‘oyster’ of my head. Coated with all these creative juices, which are being secreted as a defense mechanism…. If you’ve been wondering, yes, that’s how pearls are formed!

On that factoid, I’d like to circumvent back to that irony I earlier mentioned. Not because I’m a big fan of irony, but only because it was this irony, that catalyzed me into sharing some of my thoughts!

I have happened to notice that I, like several others, have been cribbing and complaining about a situation that there is no control over. Or, for that matter, one which frankly hasn’t been all that bad for me. Why the complaining then? You may ask……

There isn’t any specific answer to this question, except that I have the time and opportunity to. Which, by the way, has been something I’ve been looking forward to! An opportunity to pursue an avocation that would help break the monotony of my work routine. This might not seem like such a big deal to a few, the blessed ones. The others understand my agony. How often have we tried to devise a schedule that would accommodate an activity of recreation, but to no avail?!

With a well-rested and calmer mind, making decisions and seeing them through, does not feel as tedious. The irony of which is not lost on me either!

From what I see around me, we millennials handling household chores like we did our social accounts! Updated, organized, and notified much more than our work desks will ever be! ‘Sweeping Right’ when we’re not ‘tweeting’ about our hot off the fire, cooking skills! Once we’re done uploading our DIY & lifehack lessons, that would put shame to the diligence of any self-respecting veteran. With all the cleaning I’ve done, I have managed to find more spaces in my home, where I could work from than I earlier found even to laze around in!

I understand, there still is a virus in the air. One which is causing more damage to us, than we earlier did to ourselves……which believe me is unsettling! The fear in many a mind and chaos at the medical facilities is understandable. Come to think of it, how is that different from any other day?! Maybe, the free time that we have found ourselves enjoying, causes us to stress on these negatives. But this is just our mind playing tricks since we’ve had no problem living in denial before! It probably is second nature to worry, but that does not take away from the fact that we live in the day and age of uncertainty. With newer diseases, infections, accidents, etc not causing even a raised eyebrow. At least, not as much as the new social ‘challenge’ on our Instagram’s or Tik Tok’s. An outcome of mental conditioning, the need for which arose due to the momentum with which we gather and process newer information every second.

This does not necessarily mean that we are fickle-minded! But are a generation of the ‘Information Age’, that has evolved with an inherent need to compile ‘data’, much like the ‘smart’ machines we are so dependant on.

Not meaning to digress from the original agenda, let’s get back to another aspect of this ‘positivity’ I’ve been ranting on about. Since the world and its biggest ‘functionaries’ have been humbled by this global pandemic. We’ve had world economies tank, stock markets crash, businesses slow down, etc. But from one perspective, this can be seen as an opportunity to invest smartly and reanalyze one’s portfolio.

The Pareto Principle of 80/20 is another factor that helped me see the brighter side of this situation. The principle suggests that 80% of an outcome is generally the result of 20% of the causes. No, this does not mean you can get away with putting in only 20% of effort! This principle is trying to reinforce the importance of maximized potential. So maybe, this situation is the saddle of opportunity we could ride our efforts on!

Consider this, it did get me to start writing! A task that I’ve been procrastinating on, for a period that’s much longer than what this lockdown has seemed.

In conclusion, before I head to refill this glass of mine, I leave you guys to deliberate on the irony of your corona situation. Because, why not?!

This isn’t just a lockdown, it’s also an opportunity to open up to newer avenues!!