The reeds that float on the waves and get carried away are part of the flow that carries them. In fact, the reed that floats is the flow itself. The apparent fragility is simply that — apparent, not real.
This is the reed that will allow water to pass through the holes and the tiny branches, and continue to survive. The water crashes in white waves on the rocks that come in the way; crushing the boulders. It carries the sand-dust of time along.
The reed, however…
The reed gently plays and bounces along. Bouncing and laughing. Riding the waves that smash the boulders.
These waves become the playground for the reed. To go on. To play on.
Be like the water- gentle and yet powerful. And be like the reed- fragile and yet- resilient. Antifragile.
She was neither very old nor was she very young. She had her partly grey and partly orange flaming hair roughly haloing her head. Had she applied henna to hide her grey? And she sat on a ladder leaning against a wall. The ladder led to nowhere in particular. A rooftop with no view except rows upon unending rows of irregularly shaped boxes people around her lived in and called houses. Or may be homes. She could have been just about anyone. She could have been sitting just about anywhere. What was striking was that she did not seem to be looking anywhere! just out into the empty space in front of her- with staring empty eyes and an expressionless face. There was nothing there. Not even boredom. Form across the road, from a balcony that overlooked her terrace, I saw this woman. And wondered.
Would it make any difference to her that the life around her buzzed with electricity and energy? Would she have combed her hair in place had she realised that life around her cared? That she could make even this moment matter? Would her eyes have registered any movement from across the road had they been seeing and not staring vacantly.
I thought- Sight is not equal to Vision.
Sight is not equal to vision… and hearing is not equal to listening. And many people inhabit the space between the two aspects of these sesnses. They do not even try to make any sense of the world around them. They wake up each morning, rush through the rush hour to, and then from, somewhere. And go back to sleep again. Day after day. Night after night. Do these people feel? Ever?
I looked at my ten year old standing next to me. Nervous energy bundled into her frame. Waiting to go for an exam. A music exam. She could not practice now- she was waiting for her turn to sing. How do you SILENTLY sing? Yet, the deep concentration and the fire in my daughter’s eyes told me, she was singing- in her head. Following each note. She was also looking at the space in front of her. However, her eyes were far from disinterested, dying pools of glaze. These eyes were strikingly focused and shining with a light that defied the twilight around us.
My daughter had a task at hand. She loved the task. She was being challenged in that moment. And she was aware of each moment leading up to the challenge.
Is that not how life plays itself out? Task-love-challenge-awareness-reward.
How is it that simple flow gets interrupted? How do we lose our Self in nothingness? How does life lose its meaning for this human creature that has been called a meaning making machine? What is this life if without a meaning? What is it if without attention?
There are those who live deeply- and feel deeply. Every moment is alive for them. In fact the pause between moments where the things really shape up are also alive. Someone is sad, or happy. Someone is interested or bored. Someone is active or lazy- but they’re engaged in their life and the breath that sustains it.
Then there are those who simply move through the moments like a zombie- may be not even a zombie! Zombies also move towards sustenance and targets!!
These difficult times have brought home these distinctions sharply forth. We must stay away from people and activities we did as normal- sometimes not even stopping to consider what we did and how much we did. We hardly took a moment to express our gratitude for what we had. Now- we have been forced to slow down. Fortunate are those who have a roof over their head and a place to plant their feet. Fortunate are those who have food on their table and fire in their kitchen.
And when we hit this pause button- those that love deeply and live deeply- cannot but notice that the sky is far more azure and pure, the birds can be heard in the middle of the day, the colors are more vibrant- the world is reset.
Photo courtesy- Dr Nidhi Dhawan
We can either choose to live each moment as if life is precious and meaningful or as if nothing really matters to life as usual.
That choice is usually up to us. Each passing moment.
I am writing to a friend. Many times over. This mail goes to nearly a hundred people that I could offhand remember made a difference to my life and hopefully- I have made a difference to theirs. This may just land in your inbox- and stay there, unread, unopened. For some- the note woould perhaps be better on Whatsapp or Facebook!
Some of you might even consider it a waste of your time… In these difficult and uncertain times, this is hardly what you would want to focus your mind on.
But- I had to do this. To say thank you to all of you. And to acknowledge- for better or for worse- we are all in this together.
That if we have a roof over our head and food on our table- we are fortunate. And by the privilege so granted or earned- accountable for our contribution to the collective consciousness of Humanity that will carry us through these rough seas, too.
This is the time to lift each other with whatever muscle we can muster- mental, physical, spiritual, professional. Health is no longer a binary- or perhaps more so than ever before.
Even though the boundaries between well and unwell, sick or not, are blurry and uncertain, we each can own a call to action to spread a new Pandemic. One of Compassion- including to ourselves. To our friends. To our colleagues at work. To our families. And be authentic. Be who we claim to be. Act as we know best. Create a World of humans that care for each life that touches theirs.
And if one or two lives be better for having been touched by mine- and further- known or unknown to me, the ribbon of compassion gets tied to two more for each life so touched… the new pandemic will be much bigger and much stronger. We may need to recognise that people who need help to navigate these choppy waters may not even realise that need. That Challenges to re-entry may be far-reaching and unforeseen. That each individual lives a life, sings a song, dances a rhythm that is unique in the Universe. And each deserves the respect for the same.
Meaning of life is often not found in searching for it- but simply by present to it. In Hindi- sthir…स्थिर and stability is what comes closest to it, but not even by a mile. Meaning of life is often found when everything else is stripped away, may be not in the conversation or the dinner or the work- may be in all of those. But- it is revealed in a moment. The moment that we take to stop and start again.
This time has given us that PAUSE. The pause to reflect on our lives- and the impact our words and actions have on others. The pause to recognize that we are more than what we do.
Pause to understand that we CAN BE more than our identity. And it is ok to do something simply because… because… It is ok to sing. Dance. Paint. Exercise. Run. Help. Work. Anything. Or nothing!
If someone wants to hit reply and share their thoughts, emotions, and compassion- please do.
For the rest- bless you for everything you are and do to make this world a better place. Thank you for being who you are.
Namaste,
Despite CDC’s recommendations- there are nuances of vaccination and prevention which need greater and more in-depth examination.
From all data, it is clear that the ANTIBODY levels from vaccination begin to wane from the last dose. Most studies are from mRNA vaccines. Of interest, and mostly ignored, is the fact that ANTIBODY level is NOT EQUAL to immunity. Immunity is a function of several factors- and the key is the presence of ready and educated cells within the bone marrow. These are impossible to measure and difficult to assay. These are also the cells that would mount a response when confronted by the virus in a natural infection- quickly and effectively.
Human beings have survived this long evolutionarily by being able to have an immune system that has the remarkable ability to be educated, and that is in delicate, yet robust balance in maintaining natural health.
It is, however, known that natural infection confers more robust immunity that lasts longer than that induced by fragment vaccines. Yet, the unpredictable nature of natural infection and its natural history in a random unvaccinated individual make this a risky method to acquire immunity. There are studies that conclude that getting an mRNA vaccine after initial AZ/Oxford confers a stronger immune response. Also, that the other way round offers no significant advantage.
As of now- it is more important to have UNIVERSAL COVERAGE of the population, especially high-risk groups. And here I do not mean this in the traditional sense of co-morbidity and age. Here, I mean it in the sense of risk of exposure. So long as even one person is available for virgin infection, there is a statistically significant chance of the emergence of variants.
The thing about present vaccines- a miracle though they are- is that they do not provide STERILISING immunity. And they are not 100% effective. That means, it is possible to get infected even if you are vaccinated- though the infection will be less severe. Which, in turn means, that it is possible to transmit this infection to others. And because you may not suffer too severe a disease, you may not even realise that you are infected. Even more reason to follow Covid Appropriate Behaviours (CAB). Seriously. Diligently.
Hence, deeper and wider the vaccination coverage, less the chance of severe disease and more the chance of natural immunity. Paradoxically, also more the chance of emergence of variants in the absence of CAB. There is a nuanced dance between breaking the chain of transmission and preventing severe infection that will ultimately beat the virus.
Covid appropriate behaviours, diligent watch for weekly trends- rising or falling and, chemoprophylaxis with Ivermectin and Zinc would be more appropriate even for those of us who are fully vaccinated.
The US is in a unique, and unenviable situation where their first and second waves were powered by variants that were of a less sinister biological behaviour. The third wave- driven by Delta, completely derailed them. Currently, their numbers are almost 100% Delta. The bad thing about Delta is also the good thing about Delta. The fact that it is so highly transmissible that it infects EVERYONE IT TOUCHES is also the reason NO OTHER VARIANTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OCCUPY THE SAME REAL ESTATE! And hence, there has been a slump in the emergence of newer and more sinister variants.
And our second wave was Delta driven. We have a population immunity that is fast reaching the stage of herd protection. Even the 12–18-year-olds, by ICMR estimates, have a seroprevalence of nearly 70% (67%, to be exact). Thus, the WHO statement proposes that India is in the stage of possible endemicity where we may expect pockets of outbreaks but would be largely protected from the terror of something similar to the last wave. That is not to say that we should not care or give up on precautions- those are here to stay. For a while to come. We need to watch for the approaching festive season- if we are able to control population behaviours then, we will emerge on the other side without the need for boosters.
Even Pfizer and Moderna might by then, come up with appropriately updated booster vaccines to cover the emerging strains, including Delta.
To conclude- Precautions- YES Boosters — MAY BE. But not now Which boosters? Still a big question.
The tragic polarisation and politicisation of the pandemic, and the response to the pandemic is a huge disservice to public health initiatives and a big loss for science in general. To be opposed to something simply because you belong to a political/ ideological affiliation is not only stupid and unscientific, it is also extremely dangerous.
It is time to raise the quiet, logical, scientific voice.
It is time to create a space for scientific discussion or even debate.
It is time for ALL of us to decide who will win- the virus? Or Humanity?
