We are in a really confusing era. So there’s this pandemic we all know about, which has almost paused everything around us, but not really! Has it?
I was going through these different posts in social media platforms where they mentioned how it’s the time to be more connected with your family, how important it is to take care of yourself, how you can use this time to read those books kept in the corner of your bookshelf, to learn something new, maybe cooking, or a musical instrument. This is the perfect time to learn the guitar which your girlfriend had gifted you on your birthday and play a Bruno Mars song. Okay! Yeah sure! And the other day, my friend had shared a post which said, “This is the time when the world has paused itself for you to look at yourself and do some introspection. If you don’t do it now, there’s no way you are going to get this opportunity again.”.
I completely disagree. We are not staying at home because we want to, we are staying at home because the circumstances outside are not in our favor. It’s great if you are all calm and composed during this time. It’s great if you are utilizing this time in working out, or in painting, or in playing your favorite instrument, and if you are productive every day.
But I also want you to know that it’s okay if you are not. You don’t have to be the most productive version of yourself during this time just because you are saving a few traveling hours of yours. It’s okay to not discover a new hobby while you are quarantined. It’s okay to not work out every day just because you think you might not get these hours back. It’s okay to skip work once in a while cause you are not feeling like it. It’s okay to not talk to each and every one of your contacts because you feel like you are obliged to. It’s okay to just exist. What is not okay is to judge yourself for any of this, and to be anxious about it.
The most important thing that you need to take care of is your physical and mental health. Physical health is something that is tangible, you know what and how you are feeling, whether your head hurts, whether you have a fever, etc. The non-tangible grey matter of yours is what you should be worried about. Often we ignore the entire point of doing something, and that is to be happy. If there’s something that you feel like is forced or is making you anxious, it’s okay to give it some time, to give yourself some time.
I suggest you understand what makes your heart happy. Maybe this morning you felt like reading a book, and tomorrow you are just not into it, it’s alright. Do what you feel like doing at the moment, maybe watch a movie, or just sleep. Maybe today you had a great day at work, you did more than what you were expected to, and tomorrow you don’t even feel like booting your laptop, it’s alright to take leave for a day and eat and do nothing for real. Maybe today you played all your favorite songs on your guitar and you enjoyed it a lot, but tomorrow you are just not willing to play any music, it’s okay to prepare a cup of coffee for yourself and binge-watch your favorite Friends episodes. The whole point is, it’s okay to just exist as long as you are not exerting yourself physically or mentally. Don’t worry about the extra calories that you are gaining, or about the extra hours that you think you have wasted. We are all humans and it’s okay to take one step at a time, or maybe just relax once in a while. The only important thing to do right now is to be kind to yourself and others.
