Quotidian Quarantine
If you are reading this right now then you are probably in quarantine just like me, slouched on the couch, phone in one hand and chips in other, with the television on just for the perfect background noise. After a few days into the same routine I realized that this period of my life is not bad as it seems. In fact, I am happy that I could do something now which I probably wouldn’t have done on any other day.
Lately I’ve realized that I have started analyzing my thoughts. Yes, I know it sounds crazy but hear me out. Our pre-covid life was just about running to school, college or work and ticking off things from our to-do list. We never got the time to think properly, we just thought about things on the surface level as long as it was sufficient to make a decision but never got to the roots. Even if a stray thought that we’d rather avoid came by, we dodged it as we told ourselves that it can be dealt with later. But now, we can actually think about it while sipping our tea/coffee. I thought through all the things which I used to run from: feelings, relationships, dreams and importantly myself. Trust me — my mind is in a very happy place now. Alongside my wardrobe, my mind too, is decluttered and there is some sort of clarity which has allowed my thoughts to explore situations beyond my regular thinking.
Quarantine made me open my art box, kept away during board examinations, which was now full of dust over it, somewhere in the attic. After seeing the collection of old, dried up poster colours, watercolor cakes, tubes of paint, sponge and brushes I had a sudden motivation to paint again. Did I mention this happened at 2 am, because why not? The artist in me was overjoyed to draw and paint again and create all that I always wanted to. You can try this too. Even if it’s just mindless doodling, it is very therapeutic. Let your thoughts pour onto the paper and the result will surely make you happy. Journaling is my newfound love these days; it’s such an inclusive hobby that there are no rules whatsoever. You like writing? Then you can write. Drawing or doodling? Absolutely welcome. Don’t know anything? Just stick your favorite pictures from magazines or albums and decorate the spread with your own style. It is as simple as that. You can spill all the bottled up thoughts, write your favorite poems, essays, quotes, anecdotes, lines from movies, books, or just rant about whatever you want. Make it messy or make bullet points — anything is acceptable. Once you start journaling, there’s no going back.
Lockdown got more interesting since my younger sister and I are together now. Before lockdown, we were so busy with our lives that we actually forgot how we used to fight with each other. Guess what? Now we have plenty of time for it. Believe me, nothing is funnier than troubling and pestering your sibling to the point where you have a WWE equivalent fight between you. We also do random things at home like ganging up against our parents, haircuts, eating competitions, dancing at 1 am and snacking right after. It was just yesterday that I gave her the most important lesson of life: how to cook maggi. Next I’ll teach her how to make coffee for me. All these small things are the most heart-warming experiences which make me smile on a bad day. I can imagine myself recollecting these moments in 10 years, when life will be different.
The lockdown kept extending, days passed by and now it’s monsoon. All this time I thought I hated rains, when I actually didn’t. My hatred was just the product of my inconvenience. In reality, no one wants to jump over the puddles while looking out for cars who mercilessly splash water on us, or get wet and still go to work in the same attire looking all exhausted. Mumbai rains never fail to put us through all of this, every single day. These days, though, I am quite enjoying listening to the sound of rain and thunder while reading a book by the window. Even if you just peek out of the window, all snuggled up and drinking your evening tea/coffee, the happiness you get is enough for you to fall in love with the rain all over again.
I believe in the small joys of life, they are moments which we can never recreate. All the board game nights, baking failures, movie marathons, breakfast with the family, video calls, online gaming sessions, cooking dinner for the family once in a while, all the DIYS which were saved and lost in our phones, video gaming for 4 hours straight — are all moments which will be etched in our hearts forever, that we will associate with this period. Along with these we will also remember all the cancelled plans, sudden cravings for fast foods, not meeting friends in person, messed up sleep schedules, but they’re something we did anyway. Lockdown made us realize that we assumed some things can make us happy and chased them endlessly, but joy can be found in more, unnoticeable things we never had a chance to explore.
