Making the mundane exciting

One more day to go and then we are landing in December 2020. All of us feel that we have lived through centuries, not just an year. A lot of things that kept us excited an year ago, is no longer available to us - an evening out with friends, a holiday in the mountains or just the feeling of hugging a friend when you meet after a long time. But here we are, still surviving and trying to make sense out of a nonsensical world.

Photo by Chembarathi

These days I wonder what kept us going in all these months? I remember the dizziness I felt when the lock down happened in India in March. At that time I thought I was acting normal. But looking back I am not so sure about that. At that time, what helped me is the beauty I could attribute to the most inane things that I could find.

An orange sun, slowly coming out early in the morning gave me the energy to look forward to the day. Everyone else was sleeping and the house was quiet except for the purring of the cat on my lap while I tried to dump my thoughts into the paper. I felt peaceful.

On days, when I spotted new leaves in the towering indoor fiddle leaf fig tree, there was an onset of joy. I inspected the delicate new leaves and compared it with the sturdy, matured leaves. It compelled me to trust the journey.

I started making compost. I put the rotten food waste and dried leaves together every once in a few days. I saw the worms getting multiplied, the waste getting decomposed and slowly turning into the dark matter that is ready to get mixed up in the soil. It made me realize that nothing is permanent.

The way I mixed the soil, coco peat and the compost to make a home for my new plant babies gave me purpose. I wanted them to thrive even in the unfavorable conditions. I understood that making something grow is a way of healing ourselves.

Rewards came in the form of fragrant jasmine flowers and plants that added colors to our home. For me, hope became a money plant thriving in a chipped coffee mug.

These seeimgly inconsequential things added up excitement and there was joy to be unravelled in every waking moment. I don't know what 2021 has in store for us, but I hope we can continue to add excitement to the mundane things.