The Post-Covid Mantra

“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.”
~ D. F. Uchtdorf

A terrible lot has happened over the past one year and a half! A lot, indeed…
A lot of panic.
A lot of deaths.
A lot of running helter-skelter.
A lot of baffled reactions.
A lot of recklessness.
A lot of over-confidence.
A lot of job losses.
A lot of deliberately induced negativity.
A lot of loneliness.
A lot of new avenues.
A lot of creativity.
A lot of negligence.

In short, life will never be as it used to be before the pandemic created this havoc. Even for nations and individuals that were not much rocked by grief and losses, life will not be the same ever again. The same was, perhaps, said of the World Wars and other big disasters that shook the world, but though those events were huge — the world wasn’t this global and the impact wasn’t felt this overwhelmingly. This time, we are all devastated by it — a little or a lot! But, we are…

Is there anyone out there, who hasn’t lost anyone he or she knew personally? A neighbour or an uncle or a teacher or a cousin or a friend’s parent or any other relative or a friend? A lot of us have also faced loneliness, helplessness at our inability to reach out to our loved ones, financial constraints and most important, almost all of us have faced FEAR!!! The FEAR of what lies ahead, and how shall we cope with the uncertainties ahead — is gnawing us from within…

While a lot of articles, slogans and messages, are doing rounds, we alone can best lay down what is the most suitable mantra for us. Although, the final choice is ours, there is no harm in trying to understand whatever we can in a bid to boost our preparedness.

One such attempt at a holistic strategy/mantra for the days and years ahead can be: “I-SEE”.

‘I’ ought to be our most important concern, right now. If you survive and survive well, only then you can be of any use to your loved ones, and to the community at large. Hence, the first ought to be ‘I’. Sit down with a pen and paper and jot down everything that you can about yourself like:

• what foods suit you
• what ails you
• what causes you discomfort
• how much do you sleep

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