Time, leisure, patience and gratitude.....

Time, leisure, patience and gratitude.....

I opened my eyes and looked out of the window. Our building is blessed with some green plumage and so it is often easy to find birds fluttering around. Softly and gently as the trees swayed in the breeze, I could spot parrots, pigeons and crows flying. Sparrows which have otherwise disappeared from Mumbai also fluttered around chirping, tweet.,tweet. One of the biggest blessings of the lockdown and stay at home these days is listening to the calls of the various birds and their sounds which include squeaks, squawks, chirps and whistles. It is also a great pleasure to see the mynahs fluffing their feathers, bobbing their heads, singing and playing hide and seek with squirrels.
My mind invariably remembered the poem , "Leisure" by W.H.Davies,
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
Honestly in our rush rush mechanical life we had no time to think beyond our routinous hectic schedules. Most of our time was also spent in raising our standards of living by buying goods to flaunt them.
Also immersed in our social networking apps we neither interacted wholeheartedly with our loved ones nor noticed the scenic beauty of our surroundings.
All of sudden we have got this opportunity to sit back and relax and regain a bit of whatever we have lost. I am particularly overjoyed with the time I am able to spend with my son.
In fact this has been the best part of the lockdown because I have uninterrupted time with him where we can chat , play carom, chant shlokas together or sing.
Yes on the one hand I am happy to be at home with my son yet on the other I feel so concerned about those who have not been able to reach their homes. The countless migrant labourers and workers who have been displaced due to the lockdown and are trying to reach home. Their travails on issues due to no transport and no food are disturbing. Their hardships without a home , food and the stress of unemployment looming large along with uncertainty in their lives must be so stressful. The government is putting in a lot of effort to manage this and I hope those people and their families will be safe and return safely to their homes. A lot of relief measures have been announced by the government which I am sure will work towards mending the economy.
In contrast we are in the safety of our homes having sufficient funds to manage the house.
We are really lucky to have a place to rest and relax and not be bothered of being homeless. Restrictions are there on our movement but they certainly are for our own good.
Years ago , when my son went to his play school he learnt a beautiful song- " Thank you God for the world so sweet , Thank you God for food we eat, Thank you God for the birds that sing, Thank you God for everything....."
It is a beautiful part of my memory more so because of the innocence, conviction and sweetness with which he used to sing it. Even now many times I sing it in my mind to express my gratitude to God for the multitude of blessings in my life. There have been many ups and down but God has been kind in showeing me with so much of happiness. My parents, siblings, school, friends, education, position, husband, son , a home, the list is endless. Today also I feel extremely grateful for this opportunity to stay at home and keep myself shielded from the demon of Corona Virus.
I find it very shocking that some people are being foolish and flouting instructions of quarantine and self-isolation. They need to know that this is for their own good.
Time is fleeting, years, months , days, hours, minutes will fly off in seconds. These twenty-one days too will pass off; already three days are over.
Paul Coelho has rightly said, "I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature."
I am sure before long our enemy, the Corona Virus will disappear and the obstacles to our freedom will vanish. Today all we need is patience which must not be limited to the ability to wait, but also strengthened with a positive attitude.....