How do we deal with a crisis?
I am not referring to the crisis the whole world is facing. But the ones each one of us go through in life. Each one of us go through a crisis (or a low phase) at different times in our lives, that are of different intensities. So why not consider what is happening today as one of the, (may be) biggest low phases in our life and figure out ways to make each day as enjoyable and memorable as possible. I am not at all undermining the intensity or criticality of the situation. People are dying and this is definitely the saddest and hardest part for anyone. So as individuals we all are and have to do our duty to help the situation. I am just an ordinary citizen, and at this point I feel that my duty is to obey the government (which is doing an amazing job) by staying home. And send out positive vibrations/prayers to the world. Let us remember that this is not the first time the world has faced such a calamity. The most recent for me would be pre-independent India, before 1947. So humans have always faced hardship and have come out of it and the human race continues.
Let us be calm, and help one another to the maximum extent possible - can be anything like calling up someone and lightening up their mood to helping our maids or anyone who are in need of money. We have to decide, we have to choose what needs to be done.
I am going to call today my Day-1 and a few highlights of my day are - waking up to the sight of a beautiful sunrise and having coffee, doing 12 SuryaNamaskaras and Pranayama (Kapalbhati, Ujjayi. anulom vilom, bhramari) all of which took just 15 minutes; teaching my kids Suryanamaskaras, prayer time for one hour, starting to read a book, talking to couple of friends who had called to check on me, attempting zumba with kids and finally introduced my mom to walkathome video, a 30 min walk program.
I will try to update this post on a daily basis. Take care world!
Day 2
It is hard to be positive when we see others suffering. I was reminded of the note my doctor friend sent last week saying it was good to be part of a solution. I could not stop myself from wishing I could help people in someway during this time. Well, I have come to believe strongly in positive thinking/vibrations, so the LEAST we can do is send positive thoughts to the world. Let us all practice distant healing. Imagine the world to be healthy and joyful.
I stuck to my routine of starting the day with SuryaNamaskaras and Pranayama, reading books to kids, and I found a interesting activity book - something fun and scientific to do with kids each day. I made a list of things that have been pending since a long time to finish during this time.
I called up on my aunts and uncles who are living alone (their children are abroad) to check if they need anything, anything that can be delivered to their home, and just chatted to ensure they are doing ok.
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| Kids work |
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| Clear evening sky, all kinds of birds flying back home |
Day 3
Started the day with my routine and then kids wanted to get on with the science activities that they had read about yesterday. Whole of morning they were busy with this (making rainbows and bubbles). And I decided to watch very limited news. It can play games on our minds if we are not careful.
We stuck to our evening routine of walkathome, all 4 of us enjoying the workout. My mom and kids look forward to this now. Here is the link to the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enYITYwvPAQ , Leslie Sansone is the person who teaches and there are different levels of fitness she offers.
I had promised kids that we would have pasta for dinner and so we all set out cooking. I hardly had the ingredients to make the sauce, but managed with whatever I could get hold of. I could not stop smiling when kids said I was the best pasta maker :D (It definitely was not).
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| Creating rainbow using a mirror and glass of water |
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| Wheat and whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and veggies |
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| My priced possession of 13 years, pepper crusher - makes my day everytime I use it |
Day 4
Today has been a day of motivating myself to do everything I had to do, starting from my SuryaNamaskaras. What are we supposed to do with our personal life when such a world crisis is going on? I feel selfish to think about my petty problems when people are dying in the outside world. So how are we supposed to go about living life? I don't have an answer, but I kept remembering Tom Hank's dialogue from one of my favorite movies "Sleepless in Seattle", "I'm gonna get out of bed every morning, breathe in and breathe out all day long.....then after a while I don't have to remind myself.....".
I guess we just have to think about the day in hand, and break it up to each task at hand and finish one task at a time. Task depends on each individual - cooking, working from home, washing vessels, playing with kids, talking to someone etc. From my experience, having a routine helps, as that way we know we have things to do on a daily basis. Trust me, writing down what we want to do works, either on phone or paper. Try it.
The key is not to think about the next week, or the next month as none of us really know what tomorrow has for us, and can be overwhelming and scary. Let us just remember that we are not alone, the whole world shares our emotions or rather millions of people are in a much worse situation. So let us count our blessings and move forward one day at a time. This too shall pass.
The book I have started to read is called Meditation by J.Krishnamurthi. He says a lot of things about meditation in the book, one of which I could understand was that meditation is a state where we acknowledge all the emotions as they are. We realize the emotions we go through, anger, jealousy, happiness etc. So it is ok to feel the way we feel as long as we are aware of our emotions.
I will stop with one last thought for today - let us all identify and do ONE thing everyday that gives us the maximum happiness - can be cleaning up a cupboard or talking to someone, or watching a movie/sitcom, snuggling with ur kid, working out, can be ANYTHING - but let us try to do things we love as much as possible.
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| Evening birds flying back home |
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| Spent my evening listening to this bird |
Day 5
I was going through few stories posted on facebook about how people are helping those in need and I couldn't stop myself from wondering what I was doing. Well, I guess each one of us has a certain duty that we are capable of doing. I guess at this point one way I can help is by doing a donation. And by staying home and giving our maids off, I am hoping I am helping everyone stay safe.
I was happy I could do SN in the morning alongwith Pranayama and I added Sadhguru's three breathing exercises for lung. Here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWEIJs5FFjA
Feeling good that I am able to stick to a routine and that is giving me a sense of discipline and calmness.
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| I get to see the sun rise if I wake up early |
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| Kids trying Origami - a frog |
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| Evening bird watch has become a ritual |
Day 6
I finally got to do my scrapbook today.
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| How cool is this? My older one did this on his own, I think he keeps a leaf on paper and rubs it with pencil and and later cuts it. It was a pleasant sight when I saw it neatly arranged like this on the counter :) |
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| Kids made diyas from whole wheat, grandmom's idea |
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| My favorite moment, my little ones love doing aarathi |
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| Honey cake is what my son called this - his recipe, his decoration. Though it was too hard to eat he enjoyed doing it :) We all tasted it though :) |
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| Evening sky |
Day 7
Today kids were busy listening to lot of stories on audibles. A very good way to keep them entertained and build their vocabulary at the same time. They were also engrossed in doing origami. At the end of the day the floor was covered with cut paper.
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| Done by my little one - Pendant holder or bookmark, Aeroplane, Purse, Fish |
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| In her words - "This is a fish, it got bit by a shark and so I have put band aid in the center. I took her to doctor who gave injection so she is crying, see the tears falling from her eyes" |
Day 8
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| Is it the sun, or the air, or the sound of birds - I LOVE early mornings, makes me feel so FRESH! |
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| We spent our day doing origami. Usually I let kids do their own thing, I don't sit next to them or guide them unless they ask, but today they insisted I do this with them. I enjoyed every moment. Had not touched my staedtler color pencils since my Montessory training course :) |
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| Ramnavami special, my older one made this for Rama |
Day 9
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| My favorite, before the sun shows his face, around 5.45am | |
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| The first sight of plant popping out of the soil, made the kids day :) They even labelled it :D |
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| Spotted a new bird today |
Day 10
I was watching the news this morning and the reporter was checking with a doctor about one of the myths about steam inhalation. The reporter made a point that everyone is trying to do or figure out what is good for themselves and for others amongst all that is happening around us. Let us remember and acknowledge that each one of us is doing our best in this situation.
Day 11
Usual day, ended up with watching a lot of tv.
Day 12
With lot of unknowns, it is getting difficult. But, we have to keep moving. This is the day I realized I am my one and only friend. There are lot of friends/family members/spiritual gurus who can guide us theoretically. But in reality, we have to
walk the talk. And we know ourselves the best. So let us take care of ourselves. And once we do this, we will be able to care for others genuinely and energetically.
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| Today's work - gave kids chapathi dough and they were busy making many things |
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| Snowman, if you can spot the eyes, buttons, legs :) |
Day 13
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| Continuation of yesterday's work, painting |
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| Kids make their own snack - 'hung curds' |
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| They love doing science activities - mixed hot water (red color) and cold water to understand that cold water is denser than hot water |
Day 14
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| Tiger |
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| Pink moon |
Day 15
My brother is the exact opposite of me! So I was asking him today how he is so detached from everything and everyone. I wanted to know if he had always been this way or he became this way at a certain point. He said matter of factly that once we realize the fear which we had when we thought that a rope was a snake in darkness, goes away permanently when we turn on the light. Aaaa, hmmmmm, whattt!!! He explained that snake/rope were the emotions or attachment we have, and once we realize that they can only cause pain, we stop having them! Hmmmmmmmmm...Well :)
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| Kids had a magic show for us |
Day 16
Along with the new routine stuff we do now, I watched a lot of motivational talks. I have to admit that few things are so simple, so basic, and so powerful it has helped me immensely. I am thankful for all the speakers who are trying to help others. And I realized that at the end of the day, I am the only one who has to know what gives me peace.
Day 17
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| Just gazing at the sky and looking for patterns in the clouds can be meditative |
Day 18
Has been a usual day of lockdown, the only things that change are the thoughts and emotions. Today while we were doing the walkathome, I realized how everything is about attitude. I can either smile and do the walk in a dancing way (happily with no care about the world attitude) or I can make a stern face and do it seriously in a stiff manner. The most common nature, as a human, is to take everything very seriously. The minute we tell ourselves to laugh at everything, we can turn our life upside down and make it a beautiful journey. I cannot forget what Sadhguru has said in one of his talks - Make life a love affair, not a rape!!! How powerful are these words. The moment we don't take life seriously, the moment we decide to tell ourselves, it is ok, not a big deal, to everything, we change our attitude. We all know how fragile life is, how mortal we all are. So let us make every moment a happy moment, a fun moment. Because, trust me, there is no end to the list of woes life throws at us. We overcome one, and life is ready with a 100 more to throw at us. So just tell life I am going to smile no matter what, I am going to laugh no matter what, I am going to enjoy this precious life no matter what. As soon as I wake up in the morning, after saying a gratitude prayer, I ask myself if I choose to be happy or miserable this day.
Day 19
I know everyone is talking about gratitude, well, that is one thing each one of us can do easily, as even if one is going through a bad phase, there are many things that one can be thankful for. By being thankful for the things we have, we focus less on the negative things in our life and focus only on the good things. We all know that thinking or worrying about the negative or sad stuff in life has no value and will help us in no way. So let us just practice gratitude consciously. I always remember one quote that says "Charity begins at home". It means that we have to acknowledge people at home for all the things they do, not taking anyone or anything for granted. Let us help out and care for family members as much as possible, let us make time to talk and listen to people - close family members, external family, close friends, coworkers, acquaintances, neighbors, maids, helpers we come in contact with. We never know how our 5 minutes of time can make a difference to someone. Once we develop this habit of caring and helping people in our immediate circle, we will or we can increase it to the outer community.
Day 20
We have a second round of lockdown starting in India. Just goes to prove that we need to have faith and patience in everything and believe in nature.
I will stop my post today. Let us continue the new habits and thoughts that help us and others; shed the ones that do not help in anyway; let go of our selfishness and worries - let us try to make ourselves and this world a better place. Heres to peace and pure happiness!
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| Kids did this today :) |
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