TRILOGY - YESTERDAY / TODAY / TOMORROW (21-Mar-2020)

Yesterday:

Life runs at a pace that we can refer to as breakneck speed.  Flights to catch so we can reach our favorite travel destinations, may be an exotic one since we want this to be a better experience and erase the previous one.  Before we board the flight there are a few chores to complete in the form of a long to-do list.  To tick off each item on this list, we will need to crisscross the city a few times and even fly to our parents and in-laws in two different cities.  The two of us are headed off to our business destinations in faraway countries for a period of 1.5 to 2 months after we finish our vacation together.

This mandates that we complete our annual medical check-up and take a few flu shots; need to update our medical insurance for overseas coverage and this is both cumbersome and a time-consuming exercise.  We need to split up the tasks, need to Google and visit a few sites to get the latest information, call up a few associates to be briefed so we can compare the policies and make an informed decision.  Our travel necessitates a set of warm clothing as well as winter clothing since we are headed in different directions and cross-continents.  The trepidation follows if we can complete all the assigned tasks at our respective workplace since there are many deadlines.  We must do a few night-outs.  It is the fear of the unknown, but then we are a fearless couple!

We’re exhausted and stressed beyond our limits.  Tomorrow is our travel and when we look back it appears that in summary what happened was my bank balance went down, accumulated a lot of junk in my wardrobe when we bought new clothes and did not get any time to dispose of our old ones, burnt a good amount of gas and many road miles, and the list goes on.  We did not get time to cook at home and had food delivered every single day.  We did realize that we heavily contributed to increased carbon footprint, consumed quite a bit of natural resources on Mother Earth, and the single thing we gained is huge amounts of stress.  We must visit our doctor to help us tide over the stress and related ailments given the trip is tomorrow.

Only God can save us for there is very little energy to get started on our vacation.  But then we were the architects of this planned upcoming vacation…. Were we not?!

Today:

Cut the chase to today and we are all in a locked down situation.  We had to cut short our vacation, and the only worry that has contributed to the wrinkles on our faces is the uncertainty of our safety.  We once again crisscrossed many a country, more in frustration than by design.  We had to escape the virus and the associated quarantine measures; the fear of the unknown had overtaken our rationale as well our senses.  Were we afraid to talk to our neighbors at the hotel, in the shuttle bus to the airports, at the airport lounges, and in the aircrafts, when we have known to be very friendly and socially enthusiastic in befriending strangers?  Everyone now around us looked eerie individuals.

We were bamboozled by how country airports treated us as guests, but then as infected individuals.  There was very little we knew about what happened outside our surrounding four walls; there was fear and then there was hope.  The same new clothes that we had bought a few days ago now appeared like they were infected.  The news flashed all around us on LED screens and the reports sapped our energies, and we watched in a helpless manner as more and more got infected and a few died too.  This now appeared a dead-end as we watched with bated breath for the next announcement that would make us home bound.

After going through a few serpentine queues to undergo our screening tests, we landed in quarantine.  The new clothes that we so cherished looked infected and when we go home, we need to go back to our old clothes.  We took a pledge that we will never again plan so much travel for one may never know what’s in store around-the-corner!  We displaced so much of natural resources, and we consumed so much of other resources and to no avail at all.  We need to see doctors almost round-the-clock to ensure we don’t slip away into oblivion.  We are scared and only God can save us.

But were we not the architects?  Well who are we to claim we are the architects for the Supreme has controlled our moves, and in the form of viruses.

Tomorrow:

How much more do we have to wait for this pandemic to end?  We are back home - ‘Home Sweet Home!’  During the early morning walk we felt the air was so much lighter with the pollution levels having plummeted down.  There are so many more birds and many new species chirping in the trees around and in the garden.  The colorful flowers in the garden is when we stopped dead in our tracks to wake up and notice the nature and felt blessed at its splendor. Nature has bestowed upon us abundant richness in its various forms and sizes.  The colors are resplendent, the blue skies are a solace, and the greenery around is soothing to the eye.

Do we need to go visit the exotic places around the world?  We can if we were born there, but then that negates the need to travel.  We can plan our vacations around where we live; there is no need to cross the Atlantic or the Pacific to visit a famed destination.  We have enough around us and within us.  Here in India we are proud to be Incredible India.

We can take a step back to learn a little more about what is within me.  There are books to read, YouTube channels to watch, and knowledgeable people around with whom we can interact to learn more the hitherto unknown areas.  We can feed the animals, enjoy that hot cup of coffee made at home, try a brand-new recipe, walk a few extra miles to purchase groceries, or even close our eyes to see the world within.  We really do not have to go anywhere.  We can login to virtual meeting rooms and discuss business with associates around the world. 

Science has its limitations but then nature has its abundance.  We can develop robots that are rich in artificial intelligence, but we cannot program them to wage a war against viruses, or not yet.  They may help fast-track discoveries but by themselves cannot discover a new cure for a new pandemic. If we learn to live the life that is so rich and close to nature, then we can stay that much closer to the Supreme Lord.  We then do not need God to save us; he will protect us.

We can be the architects of our lives if we love our nature and surroundings, without over-indulging in anything that is already in abundance for all us and around us.  The Supreme then walks step-in-step with us all the way to lead us to silence and eternal bliss.  Are we not keen to leave behind a greener planet for our next generation and not a beaten black-and-blue planet with its resources plundered?

If we can lead a simple life where indulgence can be considered a curse, but then living within our own limits can be considered a blessing, we then have a safe planet rich in its resources for the children of tomorrow.  The more we try to go against nature and at a pace that defies human capabilities, the farther behind we have left our own self.

Can this trilogy be an illustration of how we live in the new world order, post-Covid19?  Can this simple dream be turned into a reality?  With this idea, if man proposes God does not dispose(s)!