Well we thought 2020 was going to be our year but 2020 has proved it wrong. Things haven’t been great lately. On a global scale, one thing or another, something has come up.
There are a lot of things going on just not on a personal scale but also on a global scale. The global pandemic COVID-19 has disrupted lives around the world in an unprecedented scale Country wide lockdown, emergency have been imposed all around the world. Our lives have been taken a 180 degree turn in terms of the usual routine and hustle.
From waking up early, rushing through morning chores, catching that bus or train for commute to waking a little late, taking the chores leisurely to easing into that cozy chair to start work. Binging Netflix, finally getting time to watch that flick or series, you had on watchlist.
Lot of people lost their lives due to the ongoing pandemic. Lot of wild life lost in the wildfires around the world. I hope things return to normal everywhere as quickly as possible. But until then, it is imperative to take steps to stay safe from the virus by wearing masks, using sanitizers and staying indoors as much as possible. This whole situation has shown light on issues such as incompetency of governments around the world, lack of awareness between people regarding problems of global scale, lack of empathy in people for other people too.
The situation has brought out the best in people. Helping each other by providing masks and sanitizers, putting out supplies for essential persons, appreciating their efforts and work during these times. While most public has stayed put to rules and regulations but some have also resorted to breaking them as if nothing is happening. Some governments have responded early by taking preventive measures and enforcing complete lockdowns which helped to slow the infection spread rate but some have responded with late measures which resulted into an outbreak in the country. To name a few, countries like New Zealand, Japan, India enforced early lockdowns and total shutdown which slowed down the infection. Many such countries have been able to open back the economy and business with proper preventative measures. While some did not put the measures in the nick of time, resulting into a lot of people losing their lives which could have been prevented.
A certain sector of public with the response like “This virus won’t affect us” also escalated the problem. People marched out in protest against lockdown and effectively violating rules of social distancing. It is understandable that current situation being a very grim one, many have lost their livelihood and businesses due to the lockdowns. But protesting about it isn’t going to make the situation better. Opening the economy early just to minimize economic loss can backfire massively. People will start flogging on transport, start going to markets and offices which creates a possibility of an second outbreak. This in turn will cripple healthcare services which are already under a lot of pressure due to current patients and lack of adequate supplies and equipment. We all need to hang in for some more time !!
On a personal scale, I’m fortunate to work from home in this situation. I have been working from home from second week of March and it’s still ongoing. Even though the energency has been lifted now in Japan, many organizations have still stuck with working from home in order to monitor any further situation. I really appreciate such concerns and measures taken by the organizations. Almost 10 months since starting working, I’m happy to maintain a good work-life balance. So, apart from work, I have been able to stick to my goals like exercising daily, reading books, etc. I see that there is an excuse that where do you get the time to do these things? Well, my take on this is that you owe yourself an hour daily in some activity which can help you unwind the stress. Be it lifting at gym, listening to music, learning a new musical instrument, reading, playing games, etc. Many people have one or another method of coping with work-life balance.
{:.center} 
Quarantine in general brought more time daily than usual. Stripping the day of around 2.5 hours of round trip travel time hands me a lot of time to use. Also, being stuck in home gives creative ideas and fronts to pursue. Once the gym was closed, I was able to stick to home bodyweight exercises daily. I have been able to read 2-3 books. I was able to start learning about an explored domain “Stocks and Financial markets”. Yeah, sounds clique but personal finances and business finances are pretty different beasts. Reading through articles, some online courses and some books on the topic has helped me to go through and atleast to scratch the surface of this domain. Although I’m not completely jumping ships here but this is an interesting junction of technology, numbers and logic. Something which I did not look into before and didn’t think of being this interesting, this quarantine led me to have a glance at it.
Another thing which this entire quarantine time brought was the truth among relationships. Keeping in touch with your loved ones and friends though video calls regularly. Helped reveal the actual ones from the pretending ones. If someone cares about you, well they’ll try to connect with you, it’s as simple as that. No one is so busy that they cannot spare a few minutes to check up on you.
Entire world inside. Yet my soul wanders outside.
At the start of the year, I had planned on doing things and going on trips. Well, turned out it wasn’t going to possible anymore. My home trip was cancelled and also any other exploratory expeditions. Since, I could not really go anywhere, I did what I do best. I planned out and listed the things I want to see, eat and experince in Japan.
{:.center} 
Down to the last detail, what I want to see, in which area, what’s the best food experience at the place, any wacky experinces, etc. So far I have been able to plan out for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Osaka and a couple of day trips from Tokyo. More on the way… Whenever life returns to normal, I will be ready to go !!! In the meantime, I will take my vacations and stay at home ! I’m thinking of writing about my experiences in Japan with regard to travel, daily life, things I have tried, etc. Let’s see how things pan out !
{:.center} 
All in all, life is too short to have regrets for not doing the something you wanted to try. Prioritize work and people. Put efforts into things and relationships that you want to work out well over long time, not just in professional life but also in personal life.
So, Stay Inside and Everyone !
In the meantime, why the title? Listen to the below song from 21 Pilots…
