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listen to music, paint, cook, dabble in pottery, on coffee tables, dressers, and nightstands.”
do zentangles, make collages. An added We are fortunate to live in an age where
benefit-“The key to staying sharp in old age most of us can text, email and video chat
is in your fingers. From your fingers to your to connect with family and friends. Social
brain, and back again.” media is often the villain in the story of
Confined at home, it is books that give us life. While excessive use and mindless
places to go when we have to stay where we suffering does cause harm, recent research
are. says that when people spend their time
At a very young age I learnt that books are online communicating with people with
lifelines against the churning seas of modern whom they already have strong ties, it
life, they are “invisible noise cancelling reduces depression and loneliness. In this
curtains” behind which we nestle cozily into Covid-infested world, it is hard to imagine
a world of imagination and possibilities. life without online classes and courses,
One of the greatest gifts that I ever received webinars. One of the many things that I
growing up, from my parents and some have learned at this time is how creative
very enlightened teachers, was a love for people have been, in order to stay connected
reading. Words weave magic and books are with others. Zoom counseling and coaching
magicians that transport us to lands both sessions, online schooling, virtual happy
real and imagined, magic potions which hours, and girls’ night out - all happens
make our world colourful and exciting; on chat platforms. Lockdown and social
something interests us in a book and that distancing- new words in our vocabulary
leads to another book; it is a journey with and lives - have not been without challenges.
no end in sight - on which we discover Social media is an immediate outlet for
strange and new things, characters who fill creative expression. With Instagram,
us with wonder, and ideas that make us look Facebook Twitter, entrepreneurs conduct
the world with fresh eyes. Therefore, read online businesses, artists, poets and fashion
widely; always have a “to-read” list on the go. designers tantalise would-be buyers with
“Let books flood your home and wash ashore their creations, and social and community
causes are highlighted, inspiring others to
contribute and participate.
“Going through things you never thought
you’d go through, will only take you places
you never thought you’d get to.” The great
lessons of lockdown? Something to do,
something to love, and something to hope
for. Life is both a precious, unfathomably
beautiful gift filled simultaneously with
heartbreaking sweetness and beauty,
desperate poverty, viruses and sunsets and
music, all swirled together, and there are a
thousand beautiful moments waiting for
us after this whirlwind of dark clouds and
storm.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #17 | NOVEMBER 2020 33