Hello Everyone,
Hope all is well and everyone is staying safe.
I am back after a short hiatus, with a thought provoking poem and some profound thoughts that surfaced during this pandemic and lock down!!
” And people stayed at home, read books and listened,
They rested and did exercises and made art and played,
And learned new ways of being, stopped and listened more deeply,
Some meditated and some prayed, Some met their shadow,
People began to think differently and they healed,
And in the absence of people who lived in ignorant ways, dangerous, meaningless and heartless,
The earth also began to heal, and when the danger ended and people found themselves,
They grieved for the dead and made new choices,
Dreamt of new visions and created new ways of living,
And completely healed the earth, just as they were healed!!”
The above poem just brings to the forefront the very aspect that we had forgotten and that is simple living, simple eating, basic material things in life and the list goes on.
The current crises has really forced us to re-look at many aspects of our life. Be it work, travel or relationships. and it seems to have driven home one point – back to basics.!
Suddenly people have their romantic side coming out….with posts raving about the clear blue skies, chirping of birds…all of which existed before!!
And this one gets a lump to my throat – the goodness of rice and dal!!!! Suddenly all the western food, diet food, smoothies, carbohydrate free diets take a back seat and our old traditional food which is full of immunity boosters come to the forefront. Trust me it made me feel so good to read so many people write about our Indian Traditional diet and the hidden benefits that this generation needs to really learn about!!
And yes, people also realized that the most intimate relationship we have is with FOOD!!! hahhaaa!! Else all the supermarket racks wouldn’t be empty prior to the lockdown – panic food shopping!! We all stocked food nothing else. We realized that the macros that matter our Survival, Safety and Sustenance .
In a sense it took a Pandemic for people to realize that food is much more than a sum of fats, carbs and proteins. We realized that all the clothes shopping we did is actually not necessary – with all my office attires hanging in there calling me, all my exquisite sarees crying out for festival time and still – I know maybe this year it will be more at home saree fashion show…hahahhaa!!! Its like a big reality check of how much excess baggage we carry personally, emotionally and in our storage places at home. End of the day nothing is more valuable than your prayers and the Almighty!!
Hope all these learnings from this phase stays with us, very unlikely so because its human tendency whatever is forced is forgotten once the situation changes like it happened with Cuba when it faced food and fuel shortages due to the US Embargo, the Cubans cycled, did small scale farming and the health improved, but as soon as the economy normalized; all the lessons learnt were forgotten.
The virtuosity of brooming, mopping, love for home cooked food should not transition once things are back to normal. This phase and our connection with the basics of living life should not be like a One Night Stand; rather its worthy of a Long Term Relationship!!!
Hope I was able to touch those deep down buried chords in your heart….to bring out the best in you!!!
Till next time stay safe and keep smiling!!
Cheers Molly:)
Nicely written as always .. you are a queen with your words .. and yes everyone can relate with what you have written.. on a lighter note , the initial realization about Indian food resulted in lot “more benefits” .. and had to go back to not eating them to loose the gained “benefits” .
Very nice. Going back to basics. Keep writing. All the Best.
Indeed, a chord well struck with the reflection of realities. This pandemic is Nature’s way of asking us to review the extent of pushing it’s limits, else there will be more disastrous ways to keep check. But I feel it’s all in vein, because we as humans still don’t want to learn from our mistakes, and return back to old habits.
Very well written. Keep writing , will post my comments on earlier posts too.
Well said and all undeniable facts Mallika
Yes very true!! Nice poem too!! Let’s hope to come out of this pandemic soon and keep the good things that we learnt during this period. 👌👌👏👏
Very nice blog
Awesome post… u should write more🙂
Lovely Malli, every word is very true indeed.
You have a natural flair for writing, amazing my dear 😃😃
Haha….yes I connected with food is much more than cars,fats and proteins …. would like to read further and in depth on things.
Keep it going ✍
Loved this one Malli! Going back to basics, reconnecting with yourself and others and finding more time for new hobbies and interests.. every cloud does have a silver lining. Thanks for this reminder! Also the poem was lovely and so were the analogies!
Your poetry and word-play gets better and better with every new post …
and you surely have the cheerful heart to bring out such positive thoughts from the adversity surrounding us…
prompting every reader to take a fresh look at the gift of life!
Thanks for another pleasant stream of thought flowing from your pen….