7 Things to do in this Pandemic
For a happier and better you.
It’s already been about half a year living in a pandemic-struck world. The pandemic has imposed a tremendous change in lifestyle for almost all of us and has shaken our lives.
Right now, we don’t even know whether we have already arrived at a new normal or we will get back to the old normal sometime soon. But, by doing these 7 things, we can certainly achieve a better normal.
When challenges come up, we yearn for some sign from God, not realizing that we have just had one.
~ Adapted from a Quote by Mignon McLaughlin
1. Embrace Forgiveness
“When we forgive someone, we liberate ourselves from the poison of negativity that is within our own hearts.”
~ HH Radhanath Swami
Forgiveness is a divine attribute which alleviates one off all the hatred and pain. Don’t they say “To err is human; To forgive is divine.”
Forgiveness is often falsely considered as an attribute of the weak. But in truth, it is the strong people who can forgive.
“Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude.”
~ Anne Frank
This is the best time to forgive each everyone and also beg for forgiveness for all our mistakes — intentional and unintentional. We never know whose days are numbered and what hurts more than hatred is regret.
Let us not be among those who wait for regret to strike instead of celebrating life in the now.
We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.
~ Charles Bukowski
2. Practise Gratitude
Gratitude is the greatest super-ritual that can elevate your happiness abruptly. The benefits of practising Gratitude are innumerable. Happiness, Abundance & Positivity are few of them.
Gratitude is the process of Recognizing, Remembering and Reciprocating all the things and services we get day-to-day. You can start off practising Gratitude by keeping a Gratitude Journal — Writing 3–5 things you are grateful for each and every day.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow
~ Melody Beattie
The book “Mind your Mind” which I am currently reading has given me a new perspective of gratitude journaling. Usually, we make note of people and things we are grateful from a self-centred viewpoint.
But the author proposes that we can be grateful for anyone — even a stranger for the person he is and the good work he is doing in this world — you need not necessarily know them personally to be grateful to them.
Adding to this, the author asks us to practise being grateful for the universal force behind everything — Almighty.
3. Give more than you Take
The world has somehow arrived at a time where most of the human beings are always concerned only about their enjoyment. “What can I get by doing this?” is the defining question for most decisions.
What if we can think this way “What can I give by doing this?”. Now more than ever, we need more givers. Who create win-win situations. Try to start with your relationships, teams and organizations you are part of and eventually, you can reach the point of being of service to the whole world.
Don’t worry if you don’t have much to give. Kindness is free, and it is always possible to give kindness. Be kind more than ever, in your words and actions.
For it is in giving that we receive.
~ St. Francis of Assisi
4. Learn & Adapt
This is an extraordinary crisis. It’s unprecedented, but it also gives us unprecedented opportunities.
~ HH Radhanath Swami
These unprecedented times have come with some unprecedented opportunities to learn, heal and grow.
During the lockdown, I discovered an app — DeepStash which helps greatly in learning on-the-go. It unearths all the key points from various articles and comes with great features.
But, any day the best way to learn is reading books. This lockdown has helped me level up my reading. And it may also help you to make a habit of reading.
Book Recommendations for reading in this Pandemic:
* Mind Your Mind — Venugopal Acharya
* Life’s Amazing Secrets — Gaur Gopal Das
* Game of Life series — Shubha Vilas
And the ever-green recommendation -
* Bhagavad Gita — As It Is — HDG A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
New circumstances also demand agility to adapt to the sudden upheavals. And adapting to new circumstances will need upgrading your skill sets. The little time you put in for upgrading your skill sets will certainly prove fruitful for you one day.
5. Connect with your Loved ones
The pandemic has gave made some very busy people a little busy. And if you are one of those, try writing Letters. You can write a letter to a friend and not post it, that too will have a special effect on you.
And remember to include yourself among your loved ones. Write letters appreciation for yourself — this can boost your self-belief greatly. Other great ways to connect with yourself is Meditation and Journaling.
If writing letters seem to be tough. Try to have some Heart-to-Hearts with one of your friends or family members regularly.
Also, talk to your Grandparents and Parents(if you are away from them) regularly and more frequently than you used to do erstwhile.
6. Be Mindful
These times make us vulnerable to anxiety and depression. The antidote to which is being mindful.
Take Some ME time. Meditate, Read Self Help, Spend time in Nature, Journal and be in the moment. And remember that Movies and TV don’t fall under ME time.
The best part of this lockdown has been the ME time I take out every evening to read, meditate and spend time witnessing the marvels of nature and the vast sky sitting in our backyard.
Try it out yourself, it can be in your Garden, Balcony or your Terrace. Taking time for yourself is a must for a blissful life.
“I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees”
~Henry David Thoreau
7. See Beyond the Obvious
In 2020, we have been bombarded with a lot of news — unfortunately a lot of bad news. 2020 is just like any other year, but with all the bad news being served on the top of the pandemic they make us judge and blame the year for everything.
To prevent yourself from falling into the syndrome caused by the news, avoid the news at times. And even if you are taking the news, try to look beyond the obvious.
Try to give up judging — Judging people, judging situations — Labelling them as good and bad. See beyond the labels.
If you can see beyond the obvious and it may appear to you that the pandemic is trying to teach us all some valuable lessons. Did we learn them yet?
Remember, tough situations do not last, tough people do.
Thanks for staying with me till the end.
Please feel free to respond with your thoughts and highlight your favourite points and show your appreciation through claps. Do read my recent blog A Perspective: On Friendship, if you haven’t read yet. :)
If you liked reading this piece, you may also like to read some of my other writings listed here.
Thanks!
