A vaccine that can bring us home

Ever had this question-answer session with yourself or with somebody else?

“Where are all the answers?”

“Within ourselves.”

“What is it that you should practice to be successful?”

“Humanity and kindness.”

“What do marks and accolades do?”

“They don’t even matter in the longer term. It’s about the knowledge you gather and the love you practice.”

COVID-19 has turned our lives upside down and made us busier than ever. Everyone is running after materialistic things- taking up courses, learning, cooking, teaching, hearing motivational speakers etc. All they are looking for is an “opportunity to find themselves.” But, in this chase, we forget that the initial step of finding ourselves begins from the within and not anywhere outside. So, in the journey to find yourself one has to try losing what has been found around the world, to go deeper into the core, to be one with shared humanity and to slough off the culture he’s been collecting for years.

All our young years, we’ve been taught to be the best, hold the supreme position, and gather shelves full of awards and accolades. We’ve always learnt to measure life in black and white, or if I am allowed to stretch it too far sometimes grey. But wait. If life can be described in these three colours; why does nature serve us with a rainbow and why do we have innumerable colour shades on a makeup palette? The point is life isn’t just about a few things or a matter of this or that; Life is always full of opportunities, challenges, and trade-offs; sometimes good, sometimes bad. One cannot see the stars without darkness, right? I read somewhere, “A certain darkness is essential to grasp the connected brilliance of shimmering stars and see beyond them. When we see them in that umbra, only then we can understand that the sky is above us, the earth below, and fire within. A fire we need to learn to moderate for our benefit lest it destroys us.”

Yes, we have all the answers but they are just hidden somewhere just like a kid playing in the garden and hiding behind the curtain trying his best not to get caught, or maybe like another kid who is trying to dodge every time a rolling ball comes towards him. Similarly, it could also be that we are the ones who are blindfolded with the cloth of societal culture, money, opinions, and all that we had been taught which we still cannot let go.

In the interior, all of us are the same, the same heartbeats, pulse, blood, breath, and even dreams. All we need to do is unlearn all the worldly affairs and pursue ways to connect from the voice within. After all, life and time are the greatest teachers. Life teaches us to make the best out of the time we have and time leads us to understand the value of every breath we take.

Now, as we stand in front of a house belonging to Ms Post Covid, just ready to hit the doorbell and enter a new home, we need to stop, look, and introspect. Close our eyes for a few moments, turn on the engine at the back of our minds to feel the sanity that our soul yields. Perhaps someday we will be able to find a vaccine that can bring us inwards to understand life; realize that we can’t ever be lost when inside us, are the answers we need.

In order to live a more wholesome life, we need to treat ourselves as excavation sites. We should not forget the “us” that lies within us for us. The “us” which was there with us when the world began and which will be there with us when it comes to an end. It is ready to be found, we just need to gather the courage to slide aside the curtain or throw away the blindfold.