Lockdown Day n + n --- Dos and donts

I have given up counting how long it has been since i went up to the junction where the main road meets the road to our home. I am sure it has been over 50 days and I am not missing it at all. Each day, I wake up feeling relieved that everyone is still healthy and then misplaced guilt remembering the migrant labourers who are still on their way to their homes. The ones who stayed behind at their workplaces are being offered crazy work hours, albeit with some additional remuneration, and very few people seem to find anything protest-worthy in the situation! Some dos and dont's that I have realised I need to follow to keep sane:

1. Do NOT discuss politics at home if you're sure the person you are discussing with does not share your same beliefs. - This is suggested not because you are right and the other is wrong, however tempting it is to live with that feeling, but because any discussion could result in a breakdown of communication, and believe me, when you are going to be living in the same house for an indefinite period of time, that is not desirable at all.

2. Speak to loved members of your family often - whatsapp messages are ok most of the time, but a voice call makes a difference. And a video call makes an even bigger difference - the warmth of one good happy call stays within you for a long while. And hopefully, the person(s) at the other end of the call are also a bit happier, less alone and feel loved for a while longer.

3. Read - catch up on all the books that were kept away for a rainy day. It does not get rainier than this surely. A good idea is to have some ebooks stocked up and also two or three hard-copy books strewn around so that there is something to be picked up to browse through, whichever room one walks into.

4. Dress up - do not stay in your night or exercise clothes all day - nothing is more 'laziness-inducing'. Even if the same 4 or 5 sets of clothes are in circulation, and all your saris, formal clothes and fancy accessories are in hibernation, there is some pleasure in getting into fresh clothes everyday.

5. Browse - there are wonderful concerts, talks, readings and podcasts available online. Listen to at least one a day - nothing can be more enervating.

6. Control :
6a. If you are hooked onto any one serial on Netflix or Amazon Prime of Hotstar, restrict yourself to only 1 or 2 episodes per day - binge-watching seems to bring these characters into one's dreams and that's not a happy feeling.

6b. If your hand is hovering over a forward, and you can't instantly think of who to forward it to, just desist. It probably doesn't need to be shared. Same goes for tweets - if you can't think of a suitable comment for a retweet, just don't do it. There are more than enough forwards and tweets already circulating - no one is going to remain uninformed or unaware just because of your not sending that one tweet or forward.

This list could go and on, but these points are only a reminder to myself so I can stop now.  Since I don't overdo the snacks, I fortunately don't have to remind myself to stop eating. And I am exercising adequately so no reminders there either. All in all, I am in a good place and can make the most of it, even while feeling completely useless as far as helping those in need in these troubled times.