Stop and smell the roses…you probably heard the term many times but might not have practiced it often. And, now…we’ve all been forced to do so. It’s like the world conspired against us, it has had enough of us and finally shut us down. The Earth had enough and said ‘this has got to stop’. What do we do with all the technological and medical advancements now? We’re being defeated by minuscule living organisms that we can’t see.

Going with the trend, here are my thoughts in these Quarantine Times.

The Covid-19 caught us by surprise. We had never thought things would get so bad. We all thought it wouldn’t reach us. We all thought at least Our lives will go on unaffected. But, alas it’s here, it has happened to people we know, it’s around us everywhere and what’s worse, you can’t even tell how or when or where it’s lurking waiting to get you.

So, now we confine ourselves that’s all we can do. Urged by our governments to stay in. Some of our governments didn’t take it seriously so the worse has happened. We try to play the blame game…the governments didn’t do enough, it was that person, that community…we could go on and on; but the dirty truth is we’re all in this together. We were all at fault.

Our lives had become mundane, too busy in our busy schedules and life itself taken for granted. The thousands that die every day merely because of our inconsiderateness meant nothing. We flipped channels all day watching the news full of atrocities all over, and well…it was what it was, we never gave it a thought. It’s not happening to us right?! That's precisely what we said sitting on our comfy couches and lounging on our beds while we flipped to the news for a mere 10-15 minutes in between our Netflix soaps and movies. Or more so, the news kept playing on our Facebook Feeds as we watched our daily soaps and movies.

The earth meant nothing, the environment was overly trashed. People meant nothing, relationships faltered.

We been minting money, not caring for the less fortunate. We’ve been so busy posting nonstop about those vacations, those fancy meals, that awesome drink, that party / get together. No matter what we did we made it hip. Trust me I’m in it too. And then….
BOOM! What started as a break out in a place far away, spread and is spreading like wild fire and we can’t seem to control it, no matter what. It’s a global pandemic.

Now, we’ve all been forced to isolate ourselves. Oh now we think of our loved ones. Now, the earth gets to breathe. It's probably thanking us for a change. All the other species finally are living in peace without human intrusion. In our minds, this pandemic has finally put things into perspective.

We’re not used to living like this, are we? Everything is so uncertain.
Day 1: It’s fun, we’re working from home. Kids are not at school and we’re having a ball.
By Day 5 there have been a few deaths in our country, looks like its getting serious.
Day 10: Oh no! the death toll is increasing.
We’re scared, we keep ourselves protected as much as we can.
Day 15: We’re losing it. It’s getting to us this social distancing. We crave for that personal touch that we took for granted, even meeting your colleagues at work. We want to run out, feel that fresh air, meet other humans, shake hands, give hugs and talk.

Now, we video call our parents, siblings and friends every single day, more than once a day. But, it isn’t the same is it. Now we think of the times when we didn’t do that trip to see our folks and we think we should have.

So, it’s finally time….time to STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES.

1. Spend time with your loved ones. Use the time to catch up with your folks, siblings and good ol’ friends. I’m enjoying this “work from home” routine. Finally catching up on that sleep, spending time with the kids and better half. And yet, I miss the work place, the colleagues, the chats, the canteen hang outs. One more thing to value and respect when we get back.
2. This situation has finally given me time to think of the less fortunate. Let’s take this time to donate.
3. Let’s be on the safe side and stock up on food and other essentials, not hoard. Let’s not fight over things. This quarantine life has made me realise that I can live without so many things. Need to change this habit of wanting to have it all. Live on the essentials.
4. Time for some value building with the kids. What a wonderful time to teach our kids the importance of the life around us. It’s been a wonderful time to sit and read the scripture with the children, make them reconnect with The Almighty.
5. Get back to that hobby. Finally, I’ve found time to write, made the children work on theirs. Go catch up on yours, give it the time you never could, build on it and maybe you’ll find that you can make the money you wanted through it.
6. Sit back, relax and admire the beauty of life. I hear more birds chirping, I’ve had the chance to see new birds around my neighborhood who now come to eat at my window.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Let’s try to change ourselves for the better and come out of it as a better race.

Ciao for now. STAY HOME…STAY SAFE!