Page 10 - Seniors Today - May21 Issue

Joy and prayer
We are the gatekeepers of our own joy.
We need to find happiness; unfortunately,
this is not something that one can order
at a takeaway. Happiness is a momentary
fragrance, the memory of which lingers
on; it is the cause of our joy. Moments of
happiness at this point show up in the
smallest of ways. While meeting friends
is a near impossibility there is a new-
found sense of togetherness. Technology
has united us – Facetime, video calls, live
broadcasts and Zoom have allowed us to
reconnect with friends and family.
One needs to find joy and beauty in the
ordinary. The smell of freshly brewed coffee,
the steam rising from the cup and dancing
in the air. The way a puddle glistens in the
sun; the flirtation of the pigeons. The call
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of the koel; the fragrance of mud after the
first shower. The carpet that the jacaranda
and the gulmohar spread on the road. We
see as much beauty as we are prepared to
see and something need not be perfect to be
beautiful. Cracks on a cup caused by age,
or a cracked smartphone viewed from the
right angle with the right attitude, is a work
of art. Discovering old objects, photographs
which bring back happy memories. To fight
depression and anxiety we need to draw our
own rainbows.
This is a time for gratitude and
thanksgiving to all the frontline health
workers – covid warriors, life-savers, and
key workers – right from the bin collectors,
the mortuary staff, the housekeeping staff
and others responsible for keeping the
great clockwork cogs of our society turning.
Nurses and doctors risking their lives
working tirelessly night and day to save
others. Their efforts are a testament to the
human spirit, a silver lining around the
cloud of the coronavirus crisis. Say a prayer
for them also, for their families who send
them to work not knowing how they will
return. And while you are at it call out to
God by whichever name you know; beg for
forgiveness, mercy and benevolence.
For if this is not the wrath of God, what is?