Washing hands was once the golden rule and now is platinum

Growing up as a kid at home, the message relayed repeatedly by mom was “Wash your hands well with soap”. In school, the nuns and teachers continued to relay this same message. It was the same with ‘look away and cough/sneeze in to your elbow’. It was also the same with using one’s own cups and water bottles and never to use another person’s cup or bottle or pick food from another kid’s lunchbox. 

All these were considered simple acts of etiquette. I learnt that these acts were considered good manners and health habits to carry with me for life.

Well etiquette and all that relaying does fly out, when as kids we are with our buddies in school. We turn wild, crazy wanting to savour the snacks/drinks in each other’s lunch boxes and cups. We had to be one with our group. Trying to be invisible from supervising nuns on disciplinary checks was to be considered later, if we were found out to be doing just what they did not want us to be doing.

On my Girl Guide hikes and camps, I kid you not, the teacher in charges of us relayed these same messages, making us to stop and wash our hands, whenever there was a flowing stream on a hike route. At campfire night, we were supposed to take shower get into clean garb and show up.  It’s not that we didn’t like being clean but rather we get into a world of our own whenever our buddies are there and then rules seem to slip away.

Today sitting socially distanced going on with my daily routine, my head is filled with these notes from the past. The voices of those nuns, teachers, and adults in family all giving that stoned piercing look that simply spelt “clean up” whenever I looked like I needed to be I had to appear’clean’ n their eyes. 

Today we have the gamut of media constantly reminding us to clean up.  In this age of fear and uncertainty each time I wash hands, sanitize or clean up, it’s not the electronic voices I hear, but it’s the those voices I heard as a kid at home, school and girl guide trips. COVID-19 or (let me re-christen it to) C-19 has for sure brought back many memories often linking them with something in the past.  

When these pandemic influenced health practices were first introduced as “must do’s” it  was such a strange thing to hear the simple act of washing hands to be repeatedly broadcast and encouraged over the media. There was even a timing that hands should be washed to the duration of singing ‘happy birthday’. There was even visual images published of the proper way of washing hands and clean up techniques. 

I remember reading these literature hoping to find something new that I never knew about the art of cleaning up. Surprisingly there was nothing new all of it was a rewind and replay from the old school lesson board.

Never did I think that all of these simple acts I followed under supervising eyes, would turn out to be a modern religious ritual, to the extent of being considered a violation of the law, if not properly followed.  

This pandemic is one of a kind, the lessons it has taught me are diverse and intense. To think a microscopic object invisible to the human eye succeeded in taking control of our lives in every way. It is making us do life’s simple things to save ourselves. 

I think in a way if we consider this C-19 menace positively it would build our mental strength to the optimum. How we do this depends if we consider this as another challenge or a blessing in disguise.

boarding the digital bus in the new normal world

 Let’s say one of your parents have decided to learn how to use a mobile phone or a tab. Maybe you have decided that its time they learnt some basic tech skills (I am guessing you had your moments). 

Since most things work in line with mobile technology why should these people be left out ? It would help if they knew how to access a text message , whatapp from a mobile phone, reply, send a message on whatsapp, even  snap a photo and send on whatapp. 

When I refer to parent or parents, I have in mind the generation of senior citizens that had zero access to technology or grew up during an era where hand written letters and taking a telephone call meant walking to the post office.

They are probably in the aged range of >65.  They had gotten so used to this laid back style of doing very simple tasks that they think this is the best way. Such mindsets cannot work around the fact that within three fourths of that time spent doing such simple things, a lot more could be accomplished plus also given time to chill with a nice cup of Ginger Tea and Biscuits.

First it helps to understand how this generation of people did simple things and how they made things work for themselves minus technology influenced methods. 

You need to remember this generation is not familiar with terms such as enter, delete, send, forward etc., In this example I have taken. People from this era virtually have no clue to understand how technology influenced systems are easy and hassle free, how it takes just a couple of minutes to sort utility bill payments online without wasting time in queues or spending a lot of time doing stuff which technology can zip it up in just a few minutes. 

The catch is how would you influence them to want to learn how to use these devices in an emergency or simply help them get closer to the new normal world the we have all  stepped into. 

I know many such people are reluctant simply because they fear these devices, feel its too complicated or just think that the old style is the best and the right way. Some of them have already fallen off the bandwagon. 

But the world is increasingly adopting technology driven systems for everyday life. These people often rely on people from generations after them to things done. But it would help if they were able to do some basic things on their own.

You need to understand what a person from this era and social background understands within their own ‘technology free world’ and then step off your own technology filled world to teach them in getting familiar to use these devices. You need to empty out the style of how you guide your friends to do some things on the pc, mobile phone when they ask you for help. 

Your student is one that does not know anything about texting, reading, forwarding or sending. Where do you begin and how will you take them through in adopting to technology based systems ? 

Its going to be an interesting, humorous and painstaking ride (there is no denial to the levels of tolerance) but these are passengers who cannot be left behind, they need to hop on the digital bus but are we thinking of innovative ways to get these passengers on board ?

 

I miss being with you

at times you are totally relaxed with only a humming noise while coming up to the shore, as if to say I am around,

other times playfully crashing on the shore as if to say here I come,

some days letting the mighty sun paint taped layers of blues and greens on your gigantic canvas of salt water,

On rainy days putting on a drab grey dress and looking all so forlorn,

I have walked along the coast lines of the North, East, South and West of this island,

But have always stopped to take a moment to see you 

and absorb your splendour even for a short time,

I could never get enough of seeing you,

today I can only whizz past you

but every passing second I throw my senses out of the window to catch a glimpse of you,

with the same fondness I will always have for you ❤

You make me marvel at your might and character,

Bold, Energetic and Powerful

Beautiful to the core ❤

Tea & all its glory

my thoughts are sporadic, 

they waiver, 

concentration swaying,

I battle to keep my mind from drifting,

amidst sporadic patterns of being in the present 

and somewhere beyond 

I feel the need for a recharge 

to bring out the best from my creative cells 

and marry them off with crisp copy

Yes !!!  I need a revival 

bring my thoughts back, 

be more focused, 

and accomplish all the assignments 

that stare back at me from my desk

I scoop out the type of tea for the moment and mood,

and let it lie on the bottom of my tea pot.

fill up the kettle with water, power on and let it boil,

afterwards….. the sound of hissing water exhaling fierce fumes

hits the leaves of camellia sinensis 

twirling the tea leaves into a frenzy

the quiet leaves awaken 

and come waltzing merrily in the sizzling water.

minutes later, the leaves detaches with its glorious flavour 

and glues itself to the fiery water that readily takes it all 

flavour, colour and the rest of the combo

while sending out a heavenly aroma out of the spout

that does a brisk walk through my nostrils

jolting the signal towers of my brain 

sending out beepers to my senses

to light up, awaken and savour the glorious brew 

after a well brewed tea travels through me, fills my senses

stamps my soul with nothing short of serenity, bliss 

and a feeling of heaven on earth

my thoughts return, this time with better clarity, 

I am more focused, on, ready and powered 

to string my creative thoughts on those assignments.

Here’s to the brew that cheers, inspires and synchronizes thoughts and actions !

Journey of my avatars

as a toddler, I trial my walking skills

trotting on  pebbles, brisk as I glide

confidently I hop over bigger rocks

I am christened as  Stream.

 my walk graduates to a run,

I go over rocks whizz in full force in open spaces

I feel like there’s no stopping me

until a bigger and widening mass appears before me

I am now a teenager restless to venture beyond experiment 

minus the limits or barriers

I have turned a river.

I keep racing, ending up in an estuary,

the air turns pungent and ground brackish,

If I chose to cease my journey here,

I would be named lagoon

A part of me breaks away and takes a different turn,

I am present in both,

and in here I max-slide a hill

Letting out the loudest glee as I cascade down with the rest

As a spray of my whole being circulates in the air

My name now is waterfall

But, another part of me choose to keep racing

I arrive to what seem like a noisier galaxy

I feel like I have conquered the universe,

as I stare at the wider mass,

trying to fathom where does it end,

I am now ocean,

I dance like a ballerina

Land on the still foliage

lying until the creatures come by

moisten the flora,

give them the morning wake up call

My name is dew drops

 

I fall in a drizzle, to refresh and nourish a thirsty earth

frogs dance on lotus leaves welcoming me with a croaking melody

earth welcomes me with 

all its creatures relieved at the sudden revival

I am raindrops.

Dark swollen clouds spit me out to earth

I crash down with force, with all my might

snarling, swirling, thrashing in extreme rage

none are spared,

I wash them away from  their habitats,

homeless beings, now hopeless

I am no more a lazy droplet, but rainstorm

I toss and churn, surf high

Sieve and detoxify the ocean bed, 

make healthier breeding nurseries for marine life

I feel energetic, powerful as I am

pulled and pushed by the mighty trio-sun, moon and earth

I am high tide waves.

I sit around being the cooling shield for the planet

Hardened, lying on mountains, lakes and anywhere that suits me,

accompanied by creatures who make their habitat wherever I am

White, Glistening under a weak ray of sunlight, but bold and hard

I am Glacier.

Crystalised I float in flakes, powder and dust,

Gracing the once green, brown landscape turning it white,

Turning some spots into  play areas, transforming into toys

Created, played, cleaned and shoveled by beings

My name is Snow

At first I lie still

but with the rising heat,

I spew, hiss and throw steam out of a whistling spout

At boiling point, I sail through a spout to complete the perfect brew

Boiled is prefixed to my name

with each changing form, my garb is different,

colourless at times, rebellious or still when it matters,

I am quiet, swift, gentle or electrifying,

my life cycle and journey is

endless, ceaseless and priceless

Water is my family name

 We now run as a tortoise and no more a hare

Until March 2021, we always wanted to outdo each other, do better, so we aimed higher and sweated out to reach even higher. We all wanted to get to the summit of everything we do. Not once did we appreciate and value all the time, space that was there to fit in to pursue a new hobby, learn something new, connect with another culture and look at anything beyond that would help us grow better. Nor did we stop for a moment to be grateful to nature who kept running with us, providing her service without any protest, but we had no gratitude nor value.

We were fierce to compete with each other, running, stumbling, falling, rising and then running even harder. All of us wanted to be the hare but never the tortoise.

Until a microscopic being decided to tear down the gears of our un ending race. Before we knew what happened, everything from doing our daily errands, going to school, college or work simply took hours, days and weeks to either get it done or we just had to wait till everything around us was fine to make it happen. Strangely gradually but rapidly the race slowed down and at times halted. We all became tortoises.

In a way I take this pandemic breakthrough as a time to unlearn, relearn and learn many new skills, interests and read more of things that can shape those intentions into reality. All this I do, while I keep a tab in staying safe from the dangers of an invisible viral being that may get me anytime. With all the negativity that’s bountifully flowing around, I focus more on adopting to a new normal world and do not panic over this viral being pouncing on me.

I began by becoming more mindful, what I listen to, read and watch. about the food I put inside myself, how I work out, After a while, it all made sense, Being mindful about simple things does take a lot of your thoughts into a different direction, it helps you to turn your mind towards many things, which you otherwise thought were lame or just wasn’t meant for you. It’s amazing how this connects al the cords in your fuse box up there in your head, to keep the flow of electricity lighting up your system.

Within this dull frame of social distancing there is also hidden world of goodness which we do not realize or just do not wish to open up to, because our minds are so locked up, in what we are used to having and doing mindlessly.

Although I have to admit that some pleasures in the old normal world such as travel  being outdoors, the ocean, parks and the buzz of downtown all gnaw into me, I tell my mind that this is the world which is now as good as a black and white television given to us. We either take it and try to add some tubes to its monitor and turn it into colour  or stick with the monochrome view.

Actually it’s all about staying mindful and the choices we make. I admit it’s no easy game but this is now the new race we must run and we must keep running, this time slower but steadier in real tortoise pace but with a sharp mind of a hare.

Let’s support those who are struggling to run this new race.

 

 

 

Chosing between needs, likes and wants

By now the only jargon we hear are associated with the dreaded pandemic that's raging on, I am not even going to spell out the words in here. On our second year, living our weird lifestyles, wondering what hit us, overthrown by something that cannot be seen. Probably it remains microscopic to further prove that all such things are a bomb waiting to explode and teach humanity the lessons it deserves to learn. I can bring in the mosquito into this example but the only thing being is a mosquito being visible, with what happens after a bite and the epidemic variants that single bite brings being invisible.

Delta seems to be cloning itself and phishing its way through most of humanity's immune system,  Humanity is helpless choking and virtually begging for dear life. 

Until now, no living being has realized that nature has dropped a gigantic rock on all of humanity, as if to say "You get no more chances I am going to take my place and you will need to act as I want you to".

and here we are caged, restricted, distanced and trying to remain sane.

My focus in this game of survival has always been slanted more on needs than likes and wants, although at times I admit I have given into my cravings for likes and wants. But in this pandemic era, more than ever before, I now measure what is more needed than a need, 

I know most of us have changed our entire thinking into switching to carry on merely with basic needs.  My head periodically buzzes with visuals of all the times I caught bare basic lives in the villages I once used to visit for work a couple of years ago, To think life has always been this way for these people unlike us urban mice is as if a gentle nudge to say live minus the clutter.

Its amusing to now hear many reflecting on how life was more simple in the days gone by "should we have continued the same way, we would never have to put up with this pandemic drama". It is true in a way but could that be possible to evolve as humanity has been designed to advance ? 

Yes humanity has been designed to advance in harmony with nature. But somewhere along the way, an overblown ego and arrogance of humanity chose to let go of nature's solid grip and go on its own way, probably wanting to prove "we can do it better" or merely wanting to prove "nothing is higher than us".

 it was a destructive path it took by trying to duplicate nature in all aspects of the human life only to end up failing miserably to the extent that it is destroying its own kind, as its seen with all the adulterated food, cloning, abusing, modifying for gain beyond needs.  Nothing is permanent and so was this endless race to reign by abusing nature.

Nature revolted against this barbaric behaviour of humanity.

We have now arrived at a dead end where we have been pushed against the wall, with what seemed like zero solutions that exist to solve this pandemic crisis. No amount of heads brainstorming can come up with a solution to halt this invisible creature in destroying humanity.

We dug our own grave and now fight to find answers.

Medical Science has reached its pinnacle of advancement, it can embed hearts, livers, tissue and patch broken bones, give renewed hope to those who cannot have off spring,  It can give a second chance to humanity who has seen death knocking on their door.All of which is good as it pleases humanity giving them an extended contract to occupy this planet,

Humanity gloats over all its advances made and the countless ways that science and technology has elevated lifestyles and made everything so easy, even opening doors (no more using arms but pressing a button).

yet there is no remedy to cure cancer, HIV, Ebola and now C-19.  

yet there is no scientific method to make the sun turn up every single day and throw her rays, splash her colour palette on the planet and give life to all its creatures, bring her best in crayoning across the sky with a 7 colour miracle which we term as rainbow bringing a stroke of hope, nor make her disappear in the evening in one place and show up in another place.

yet there is no scientific method to make the moon show up and do her gymnastics with ocean waves and create tides, detox the marine bed and sustain marine life. shine her way through a dark landscape giving life to creatures who survive in the night.

yet there is no scientific method to produce enough oxygen that can flow through all those ventilator tubes of C-19 patients lying helplessly. We chopped the mighty trees that give oxygen for free and now race to hunt for oxygen. 

yet there is no scientific method to keep the mighty ocean, a gigantic salted hydro carpet wrapped around the planet, playing all all the while in her own frisky way, while giving shelter to millions of lives under her wing.  Sky scraper tall waves, tsunamis tried teaching humanity vented out at all the harassment to her sea bed and for constantly being fed with plastic and toxic waste.

yet there is no scientific method to make the clouds spit out all the excess water in volumes that are only needed for the times. The rains that now come tumbling down race in electrifying force washing away all of habitat and humanity's possessions. I am never a fan of rain, but since of late every time it pours down I look at the sky and then the falling water and ask why are you so angry ? the answer lies in the pace, force and style those water droplets crash.

yet there is no scientific method to make the earth spring water to the rivers that run dry during a drought. There is enough heat to burn acres of wildlife all because a frustrated planet is overworked, tired and exhausted. trying to keep up with unending greed.

yet there is no scientific method to bring in a gentle breeze and a cooling ventilator to the planet. The wind is no more gentle its rebellious and riot blowing out all of humanity's possessions. 

Only if all of these could speak the words would be " there were countless chances we gave you but now you will get a taste of your own poison"

along the way how come we never saw the signs ?

OR

were we too caught up to run an endless race ?