Eat, Pray, Love

Now that we are mostly spending time in our homes, I often wonder how my life has changed. While the terror of the virus remains, I can’t help but still find a silver lining in this situation. So, I consciously started thinking about the activities I mostly indulge in and I came to the realization that out of the many obscured hobbies I now follow or goals I set, I mostly just Eat, Pray, and Love. Can’t complain, can I?

When I say I eat, I do not just mean mindlessly bingeing on carbs. I mean I indulge more in conscious eating now that I know I have TIME. I am a fast eater. Instead of chewing, I just have a tendency to gulp down my food. Being a type-A personality, I am always racing against time. This lockdown has brought some stillness into my fast-paced life, where thoughts constantly are racing at lightning speed.

But now when I eat, I am mindful of what I am eating and how I am eating. When you are eating mindfully, you are not just relishing the taste, but relishing the whole experience with all your senses. I notice the texture of the food, I savor its aroma, I appreciate the colors, and of course, become really aware of the taste of each bite. It is truly a gastronomic journey. It feels like I eat completely different food now, this is the amount of impact mindful eating has on my mind.

Now when it comes to praying, I admit I am not the most religious person in the world. But then I believe everyone has different meanings of “pray”. While I am not a practitioner of praying or worshipping idols, I sure like to pray to the higher power by simply “talking” to it. Prayer is a combination of some introspection, gratitude, and wishing well for others. Why relate it to one religion? Prayer, to me, means chanting or meditating or yoga. When I do these activities, I feel closer to the Universe or some people even call it “God”. During these times when everyone needs “prayers” when I pray, I get a sense that I can feel the energies of everyone in the world. This strong feeling of connection can only be achieved by praying. I close my eyes when I pray because I am able to visualize better. Reminds me of a book I read a long time back — “The Secret”, where I read that “thoughts become things”. So, when I am able to visualize better, I become more clear with my thoughts and hope them to turn into “things” soon. I now understand why it is said “be careful what you wish for” because prayers said with sincerity are not left unanswered.

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The third thing that I have been doing even more often now is Love. I cannot emphasize enough on how much we take our loved ones and their love for granted. “Oh, you had a fight with your loved one? It’s okay, you can always apologize tomorrow!”. But this virus got me thinking — what if there is no tomorrow? From work to love, we have now become adept procrastinators. Every minute someone’s loved one is lost. Why do we feel we are invincible? Why do we keep forgetting that the only constant in our lives is “impermanence”. This realization makes me love my loved ones even more. Maybe I have always loved them this much but now I express better. I do not spare a chance or wait for tomorrow to tell them I love them. I feel privileged to be at home with them, so why do I say “I am stuck at home” instead of “I am safe at home”? This is sheer ungratefulness. This is the most time I have ever spend with my family and I know once this is over and we are back to square one, we are again going to get busy with our “normal” lives but till then, why don’t I just love them a little more, spend more evenings with them and just simply be present?

Now that I sit back and recall, the idea does not seem too bad. The opportunity has presented itself. I can see the silver lining so why not make the most of it? I am going to eat as mindfully as I can, pray with as much faith as I have, and love my dear ones with every piece of my heart till it becomes my “new normal”.

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Previously published on Medium.com.

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