THE TWO VIRUSES FROM CHINA




















“A huge part of recovery and life is slowing down
and accepting the unknown.
This is how you get to know yourself.”

-      Brittany Burgunder


I don’t like wars… But, I like war stories… war movies. Last night, I watched, with my wife and son the English movie ‘1917’, in one of the theaters. It’s a movie no one should miss… “So beautiful”!


And, isn’t it so ironical when I have to say ‘So beautiful’ to describe a movie on war?

It is…


Wars - and needless to say the World Wars - are ugly and destructive. But, through the stories of this ugliness and destructiveness, the human race is able to appreciate, value and pursue beauty and peace. That’s what makes ‘Bhagavad Gita’ so priceless… Yes, such a priceless gem has come right in the midst of an ugly and destructive war!


In life, we need such contrasts, such ironies… to help us value life itself!


“My net worth is now zero.” When I read this headline on yesterday’s newspaper, I felt sad for Anil Ambani, once a billionaire. Apparently, the Chinese banks are trying to recover from him loans amounting to millions of dollars which they had lent to him once, when his chips were up… Now, his chips are down!


And, look at the irony… His brother, Mukesh Ambani, is being hailed as the richest man in Asia!


‘The Biggest’, ‘The Richest’, ‘The Fastest’, ‘The Greatest’, ‘The Strongest’… I have stopped giving importance to these superlatives. They don’t move my bosoms anymore…


A simple virus called ‘Coronavirus’ has brought the powerful China to its knees… Imagine, just a virus!


We need wars, we need viruses… so that we don’t forget to keep our feet firmly on the ground, which we call the ‘Mother Earth’…


Today morning, during our Tai Chi session, some of my fellow-learners, were animatedly discussing about the fall out of Coronavirus not only in China but around the world… I chose to be just a listener!


I was, again, awe-struck by the contrast… Tai Chi, which originated in China, has spread all over the world, including our own city… What a positive virus to spread… to usher in beauty and peace into our lives… And, what a place to discuss about the ugliness and destruction caused by a negative virus spread from the same land!


We need, as I said, these contrasts and ironies in life to help us appreciate and value life…


A couple of days ago, Shahnaz, my friend, who lives in America, shared this beautiful quote from the Buddhist spiritual teacher, Thich Nhat  Hanh:

“When we walk like we are rushing, we print anxiety and sorrow on the earth. We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the earth. Be aware of the contact between your feet and the earth. Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”


Fittingly, in our Tai Chi sessions, we are reminded of the glory of ‘slowness’… We are taught to walk slowly, consciously… kissing the Mother Earth with our feet… and, leaving our imprints of peace and serenity…


And, because, we rush all the time to be ‘The Biggest’, ‘The Greatest’, ‘The Richest’, ‘The Strongest’ and so on… yes, because such rush leaves us anxious, frantic and sorrowful always, the other side of rush – slowness - makes sense to us…  And, often, gives us the wisdom to say what Graig D. Lounsbrough said:

“I spent a lifetime in a garden, one afternoon!”








GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: www.thoughtco.com

Video: Traditional China



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