Although the latest celebrity, COVID-19 virus has been doing a luxurious world tour, a greater number of the population is getting creative and spreading humor around, at the expense of the virus.
(The virus is probably wondering how! despite its terrifying demeanor, it has been reduced to an object of ridicule, by taking the centre stage on the most prevalent channel of communication – Memes!!)
And clearly, medical scientists across the world are working on getting it to chill! By tranquilizing it and tricking it into its own death. But our bro Corona seems like he is quite the player, ain’t he? Could it be because he has an untold story and some hidden secrets? Interesting, isn’t it? Let’s read on to dig deeper…
Despite being the object of ridicule, Corona bro did not lose state or give up! He reframed the situation and began considering his mockers as supporters who composed songs and slogans in his praise, and has been feeling all the more geared up to continue with his rampant invasions!
So this got me thinking… If a mere, microscopic virus with no brains whatsoever could reframe its situations and overcome its hurdles and find joy in attacking so many people, then why can’t the much more complex organisms such as us, humans, reframe this battle, alleviate the panic, and get the best of it?
Read more on how you can Overcome Stress and Negativity, and Become more Efficient
Let’s face it. Until our Corona bro decides to take a chill pill and go back home from his vacation, there is not much we can do about it. Rather than panicking and buying humongous stockpiles of toilet paper, groceries and other necessities, leaving none for those who cannot really afford to buy so much at one go, we could all try to reframe the situation and derive some joy out of it.
Now how can we reframe this extremely nail-biting situation prevalent across the globe? To tell you how, and make it absolutely authentic, I spoke to some of my dearest friends and understood how they have been reframing this entire situation work to make the better of it.
Ofcourse, safety and sanitization is a priority and so many people have already spoken at length about that but this blog post will focus more on how the onset of our Corona bro has given us all an opportunity to reconnect with our ancient traditions, families and ourselves.
So let me just cut to the chase and tell you how this whole Corona situation has been reframed in real life by real people and the 5 different lessons I learnt from them, which happened to be the crux of the untold story of our Corona bro, showcasing his secretive, benevolent side:
The onset of our Corona bro has given us a unique opportunity to live off of only the most vital things and to take our focus off of the unnecessary ones. Cost cutting, reduced pollution, reduced need to interact with unwanted people on a daily basis! You name it and we have it!
In one of my recent conversations with Achla Bhardwaj, she happened to mention to me how her family was coping with the impending threat of our Corona bro taking a relaxed tour of the capital city of the nation.
Although Achla and my other friend Dhanya Satish, were gearing up to face the contingency, they avoided buying unnecessary things that could hoard their spaces and bills, for instance, new furniture or clothes. Learning to survive on what they had at hand and channeling their money to stock up only the extremely essential food supplies and medicines to last them for a couple of months.
My friends also told me how the Corona situation had limited their outdoor trips. This in fact had helped them save on the fuel costs, and offer their minuscule contribution to lowering the pollution rates in their respective cities!
Imagine how much you would be saving by not taking your family or yourself to visit a mall or restaurants or the movies for a couple of months!
From wanting to always eat out or order in, most people have withdrawn and gladly settled for fresh home-cooked food. Corona bro has ensured that we eat healthy ghar ka khana and feel nourished and ready to battle him if at all he knocks on our doors.
This entire situation has given us all a chance to pay more attention to our homes and the resources we get out of it, which we normally tend to overlook or take for granted on other days.
Some of my friends have taken to working from home whilst some are busy working at home, decluttering their spaces, wardrobes and cupboards! For instance, I saw Deepika Padukone’s new post on instagram about how she was utilizing her time at home to clean and clear out her cupboards. (You see, she is a good friend of mine but she doesn’t know I exist. At least, not yet.)
Dhanya was sharing her experience on how she has been experimenting with different cuisines to attract her children’s palates, and this had also given her an opportunity to let her daughters invite a couple of their friends over for hi-tea, all the while studying their group dynamics even better.
The kids had also been contributing in the household chores and learning to take up ownership and responsibilities in keeping their homes clean and healthy.
My mother has also been busy throwing out most of my stuff during this period (God knows, when she decides to throw me out!), while she has also been revamping her garden, fostering little birds and their babies, all to make her home, a sweet home.
And I just sit back, eat healthy food and enjoy the view!
I would personally say that this period of isolation or social distancing has been a great way to unleash one’s creativity! Be it playing with your kids or writing a movie or designing online courses!
I remember Nikhil Damle, another good friend of mine, sharing a picture of his 8 year-old son, Aalhad Damle, dressed as Iron Man, with a suit made of only cardboard boxes! And I remembered how he narrated this whole incident of him playing along with his son and having so much fun in the process!
Dhanya was also sharing her child-like joy at getting to learn so many new games and playing them with her little ones every day. She had also been involved in making candles and designing creative artwork with her daughters.
Our very own Mohammad Rafi, came up with quite a few peak performance exercises for young children and helped his daughter practise the same! From sitting along with her for painting and coloring to devising new games to entertain her and keep her active, Rafi has managed to add some novel ideas to his bucket!
Achla also happened to mention that she had encouraged her children to take up online tuitions and lessons till the situation became better, thereby getting them to make better use of the technological resources rather than mere unresourceful gadget addiction..
This is something I do religiously, not just on days where Corona bro is pole-dancing but even otherwise. But this is quite a luxury for many people, I must say. Especially those who have no break from their routine work-life.
My best friend, Darshana Irwin, who is a dentist by profession, had been working literally all days of the week since before. The moment Corona bro decided to arrive unannounced, she got her much deserved break and she spent it in the most resourceful way ever! Eating, sleeping, binge watching movies on repeat mode!!
You don’t need to worry about dressing up for parties or social gatherings for which you were probably looking for reasons to avoid going! Well thank our Corona bro for not inviting you to his party!
This is the time that you can devote for yourself to just RELAX your mind, body and soul!! So why panic and fret about not being able to step out or kiss your partner when you have better things to do. Imagine relishing great food, sleeping into the late hours of the day, pampering yourself by lying on your bed and watching great movies! It sounds good, doesn’t it?
There have been a number of people who have been calling to check in on me and have been making sure that we are all safe and healthy. This has helped me nurture my bonds with the people in my life and to show them empathy and compassion. This has also given me an opportunity to reconnect with some very special people who I had lost touch with over the years!
My dad decided to turn the tense scenario around by resuming his guitar sessions after a long time, and he even sang along his favorite Tamil song to me – Poove Sempoove, the song he would play on his guitar to put me to sleep when I was a little child.
My mom made her signature sweet dish – Urad Dal Halwa, which carried the impeccable taste of my childhood and we three had memorable nights sitting around with each other and talking our hearts out!
Moreover, this situation has also enabled me to identify the various activities that I could do to keep my spirits up and stay positive in my life. I have been working on getting back to my singing, reading and writing more and being more health-conscious. This way I have been able to reconnect with myself too!
So my dear friends, I know Corona bro can be a scary dude. But there isn’t much we can do other than taking precautions to prevent his rampant spread. But we sure can do plenty to reframe our mind into making the best of this situation! So this season of Corona, take time off to enjoy your work-from home luxuries, unleash your true creative potential, cherish the moments with your loved ones, make memories, eat healthy food and take care of yourself and the people around you!
And when this situation dies down for good, remember to never take even the smallest things in your lives for granted. Be more grateful and spread more joy and love, and ofcourse this untold story of our Corona bro!
This is Manisha Manoharan signing off. Take care and stay healthy! Ciao.