Lockdown during the pandemic is the new normal, worldwide. Nikita tells us how it provides a chance to have a better relationship with her self. An exclusive for Different Truths.

With every fleeting minute,
World is losing another human life to the invisible assassin.
The empty streets are a relentless reminder of the fragility of our kind,
It is a wake-up call for
Our frivolous meaningless ‘contemporary values’.
The pandemic is telling us we have been doing it wrong all these years.
We do not own this planet,
All forms of life that inhabit it.

How are you dealing with the Covid-19? Cribbing about having to work from home? Obsessing yourself with the revised numbers of affected people every minute? Mindless scrolling through social media? It is natural to feel disoriented, impatient, or even depressed. You are not alone.

How are you dealing with the Covid-19? Cribbing about having to work from home? Obsessing yourself with the revised numbers of affected people every minute? Mindless scrolling through social media? It is natural to feel disoriented, impatient, or even depressed.

Self-quarantine is not just about lying on a couch, watching Netflix and saving the world. It can easily mess with our heads. The global outbreak has led to undue stress and ambiguity in our lives. Social isolation has been scientifically proven to induce certain health risks such as poor sleep, impaired cardiovascular condition, lower immunity, depressive symptoms, and impaired executive function.

The lockdown initially felt like a constraint, an unwanted pause and enforced confinement. It was challenging to reconstruct the detention into something useful. It thrilled me to go back to the ‘old, monotonous life’ where we wake up, go to work, get back home, crib about not having the time, eat and sleep. Today, a part of me does not wish to go back to the pre-Corona days.

As the Covid–19 pandemic has consumed half of 2020 already, I have finally learned to live with the new world. I do not feel as agitated and fumed, as I did a few months ago.

As the Covid-19 pandemic has consumed half of 2020 already, I have finally learned to live with the new world. I do not feel as agitated and fumed, as I did a few months ago. The blurred future, the ambiguities, the fear of the unknown, and anxiety do not paralyse me anymore.

I feel more connected to my friends, family and relatives… I am re-inventing myself. Amidst the mundane jobs, daily errands and endless competition, I somehow abandoned myself.

As Hanks said, “It’s crucial to have a great relationship with ourselves because it’s the only relationship that you are guaranteed to have every day of your life!”

As we cannot go outside, maybe we should start unravelling the world within us. In order to cope with undue mental stress and uneasiness, I started meditation. I started reading books, writing blogs, painting, sketching, and cooking.

As we cannot go outside, maybe we should start unravelling the world within us. In order to cope with undue mental stress and uneasiness, I started meditation. I started reading books, writing blogs, painting, sketching, and cooking. Everything ceased to help after a specific point of time.

This was the time I started gardening, and it helped me discover myself repeatedly. Gardening started as an odd hobby for me and has grown into a passion. Now, I get more enthusiastic about going to a nursery than a mall.

I have spent most of my life in the concrete jungles of the world, be it New Delhi where I was raised, Los Angele — my first home away from home or Houston. Aside from houseplants and flowers in the balcony, I have never had a garden.

It has merely been a few months into gardening, and I feel much happier and healthier. It is not only fun to get your hands dirty, but gardening may have a multitude of health benefits too. Research has proved that after only seven minutes of being around or looking at plants, your blood pressure falls by up to 10 points.

It has merely been a few months into gardening, and I feel much happier and healthier. It is not only fun to get your hands dirty, but gardening may have a multitude of health benefits too. Research has proved that after only seven minutes of being around or looking at plants, your blood pressure falls by up to 10 points. Many doctors now prescribe gardening as therapy for some patients who suffer from depression.

It is an inexpressible satisfaction that birds, bugs and butterflies have adopted your garden to establish their homes. Waking up to, the exquisite sound of a chirping bird is a happiness that cannot be described in words. Growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs for the kitchen will not alone spare your money but bring a sense of accomplishment. Another interesting bit of research relates to the release of dopamine in the brain when we harvest products from the garden.

Growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs for the kitchen will not alone spare your money but bring a sense of accomplishment. Another interesting bit of research relates to the release of dopamine in the brain when we harvest products from the garden.

I have realised that the more connected we are with Mother Nature, the stronger relationships we can form with others and ourselves.

It all began as a wake-up call and shall end as a staunch reminder that Man is not above Nature.

Photo from the Internet