The title and picture inspired by my friend Muralidharan Sridharan. These musings are about the way in which Covid-19 has changed my life, and what may be yet to come
The destination does not matter. It is who you travel with that makes the journey worthwhile. We tend to focus too much on the destination and reaching the place. In our personal journeys we often fall in this trap, and we ask questions like, "what is the plan?" or "where are we going?" Perhaps there is no plan, perhaps what is going on is only about two bondhus walking hand in hand. Enjoying every step, making memories with every bit of distance covered, not worrying about where they are going as long as they are going together. How about the possibility that we have no destination other than making sure we hurt no one and trample over no one as we walk together. The point is not to focus on the destination but to make sure the journey is comfortable fulfilling and life giving. When we focus on the journey then we have no rush to reach, but we care more about the comfort in the companionship. This is when we worry about reaching out to the ones who might feel hopel
It was not fog. The messages began to come in late in the night. In my typical way, I was here and there. I was in a conversation with a bondhu there when the words "evacuation" and "fire" came in together in multiple messages here. The immediate visit to some Websites presented images that caused a moment of pause. This is happening now, merely a few kilometers from where I lie in bed and even closer to where my students are. Now it has been three days, the fire seems to be burning on. Many precautions are being put into place, much effort has been made to keep us safe. It is commendable work and decisions that could have long-term impact on the lives of many people are being made by wise people. I think we have learned a lot from COVID. Risk mitigation is an important part of life from now on. Precautions are a part of life now. When the threat appears, the responsible thing is to assess it, and take the correct steps to reduce the risk. I witnessed that happening
Comments