Seeming more like a myth than reality, I often questioned whether the virus that brought the entire world to its knees could have a positive spin on our lives after all.
News of millions dying and suffering, the economy staggering to a halt and hungry jobless stomachs were a constant battering ram to the belief that the pandemic could do some good.
There’s not a day when we don’t feel cooped up in our houses with boredom being our ever-watchful companion. ‘Bored in the house, in the house bored’ took us quite literally by the necks but it’s high time we dropkick that listless little monster and make the best use of the additional time on our hands.
One of the best ways to cope with boredom, or so I’ve heard is immersing yourself in new activities. With schools functioning on the online medium and work being carried out from home perhaps the evenings when everyone is off their screens can turn into a fun family night, channel that competitive feeling to fight your way to the top of the food chain through Scrabble, Monopoly or even Snake and Ladders.
Craving a chocolate cake or a hot steaming plate of pakoras? Open up a tab on Google and the recipe will be at your fingertips. We’ve often heard people say to utilize this time to ‘find yourself’ however does one ever manage to accomplish that?
I know for sure the one thing we can do is re-invent ourselves. Find an interest and give it a go, such as learning an instrument or even acquiring a newfound hobby in gardening.
With technology being as advanced as it is, learning and honing a new skill will only ever improve our quality of life. It’s been more than a year now, and the virus is anything but relenting its hold on our world -- the way we can live our best life isn’t just by visiting new places and eating at extravagant restaurants, it could simply very well be a candle-light dinner with your spouse, a movie night in with your friends or even just giving your kid a piggyback ride.
It’s only recently, after being shut in for a majority of that past year that I’ve now discovered the childish joy once more in making paper boats and sailing them down the gutter by my house.
Boredom will inevitably find its way to strong-arm you into just sitting around whining, but there is a way that you can fight it. Find your area of interest and dig well into that niche, the creative left side of your brain is begging to be used. Who knows? Maybe your bathroom singing could actually be more than just that.
The way to deal with the overburdening stress of online school and work is to tackle it with things you enjoy doing. Calling up a friend and just talking about everything under the sun is often more helpful than we think.
So coming back to ‘Living your best life in a pandemic’ can be a reality if we want it to be.
