How our lives changed when the COVID pandemic struck

It was a time: when you realized that you could sustain yourself on half of your monthly budget--with petrol bills- down to negligible, no more costly weekend dinners and the multiplex movies and malls. when the masks took the smile out of your lips and planted it on your eyes, the eyeliners and eye mascara were in vogue while the lipsticks and the lipliners faded away. when you realized that the small stretch of balcony is more than enough to burn your daily calories and so does a cotton yoga mat is more than a substitute for your fancy neighborhood gym. when vanity went out for a toss -and you realized you can survive with curated minimalism in clothes and devices without pandering to the capitalist propaganda and ads . when you realized the virus had no friends. when technology proved supreme -Apps-- grocery , swiggy -- they bought the malls at your doorsteps. when it was a field day for introverts--alone but not lonely -happy to be esconed with their songs and books but the pandemic crushed their resolve too--doom scrolling pulled them down into vortex of negativity--even they longed for human touch and fresh air. when you realized the futility of fine dining -Per meal 3000/ and the value of cheap and hygienic home cooked meal. when you realized the futility of physical expensive conferences to gain knowledge but a simple webinar from the comfort of your home is enough- where you get the flexibility of time, dress, speakers. when you realized- the value of Books which became a major lifeline of sustenance--it took us to a world of realism and fantasy temporarily letting us forget the world of apocalypse. when the Amazon cart was suddenly filled with goods of need rather than goods of greed from impulsive buying. when the biggest casualty was mental health--the millennial generation surprisingly coped up well-- it was the older generation which suffered as they were more used to physical touch and in person conversation while the millennial generation had metaversed themselves. They were living in a world of virtual reality. when you realized the value of meditation -- and you realize how fickle your attention has grown that it was hard to concentrate even on ten consecutive deep breathes till your mind was flooded with wanton thoughts and you had to drag it back when Covid just pulled down our sneer of false vanity-- the need for external validation vanished and it was replaced by internal validation . when the old adage seemed so true "Prevention is better than cure" came back into vogue-- hand hygiene, mask hygiene, social distancing became the mantra of the day and people perfected the art of hand washing- could rattle out the advantages and disadvantages of different types of masks and even perfected the art of predicting the trajectory of your post sneezing droplets . when suddenly you found money in your hands - and the trend to--first earn,then spend and then save the residual money --- changed to earn, save, where to spend? -save more. when we learnt the value of online shopping --be it grocery, food from your favorite restaurant, clothes, cosmetics came to the fore during COVID times--you realize the convenience of doorstep delivery--with minimal exposure to the virus-- the initial phobia of leaving the delivery untouched went away as more and more scientific facts of disease transmission came out. when technology came to your rescue-the internet literally saved the human race from extinction.With a touch of a key you could do everything -- from financials, to marketing, But human memory is shortlived as soon as the threat of pandemic went way-- everything went back to normal, masking,hand hygiene, partying, spending as after all we are a social animal. We need human touch to survive, we need to visit new places, we need to make new connections. Actually God gave us a chance to stop, take stock of ourselves, learn lessons, rewire and then proceed again --starting afresh.