Dr.Sadhana Budhathoki
We all know, we inhabit in the world where our value is measured on the scale of our productivity. However, unfortunately, today world is in the state of lock-down and people are in absolute chaos what to do. Job holders are worried about being unemployed, students are frustrated due to deferred exams, most importantly laborers are hopeless about living- not due to disease but due to starvation. Doesn’t it seem like the adversity has struck us so hard? Yet, what we need to understand is that we all are in a state of crisis and not being unproductive should be the last thing we should be worried about.
You might feel abashed about not doing anything productive in this abundance of free time, but don’t panic, it’s completely okay. look at the brighter side; you are gifted with time to spend with yourself and your family, do those works which you could not do due to your busy schedule. This pandemic is giving us enough time to reflect on us and figure out what we want to do. Instead of being remorseful, how about we explore the dark cave within our-self and discover the gems of happiness, positivism, love, and compassion.
Although a few of us have found our true passion during this time, most of us are still baffled. We find our days boring, spend it watching TVs, playing video games and scrolling pages of social media. Just because our friends are rocking on social media, doesn’t mean we need to get down on the battle ground too -from workout challenges to Tik-Tok dance to discovering chef within us we have tried it all . I have seen youngsters competing with their friends -who posts a better photo in Facebook, who makes more tik- tok videos.
We are passing a strange time now, combating with the virus which has paralyzed the whole world. We are barred from going outside in order to save our lives, but our lives inside are not getting any merrier either. Ever since lock-down has begun all social media post started being flooded with ideas to cope up with the lock-down. That’s great we have got an abundance of time so we might use it well by doing something new. So far so good. Nevertheless, with the passage of time, a sort of competition began to measure how productive we are being. People are challenging each other about the number of books one can read, even how many dishes a person can cook -even I tried.
We are confined at our home for an indefinite amount of time, we don’t know when it will be over. We have no idea how long we can keep our loved ones, our savings, and our patience with us. Migrants are facing problems in border, many are being deprived of adequate treatment, the impoverished are scrounging on streets for relief. Above all we are facing a global pandemic.
Finally, we have got some leisure time to sit and spare your soul from the noise. Have some “me time” which might neither increase your money nor meet your work target; but surely, it gives you some time to think about yourself. You don’t have to feel pressured if someone calls you lazy and push you to do something productive. During this uncertain time, there is no right or wrong way to fill your day. We all have different personalities different ways of coping with things. Some people need to be occupied all the time, discovering new hobbies exploring something which may be ideal for them. While other people don’t like doing all these pieces of stuff. They like giving time to themselves and observe the passage of time. When they are advised to learn new skills because everyone else is doing, but their heart isn’t really in it, it can actually backfire as they are putting themselves under pressure.
I personally believe, keeping oneself and one’s family safe is the biggest fight right now. Don’t feel humiliated for not participating in this productivity race. We will turn thing on our way once everything takes up again.