owns

from 2021-11 Melbourne

by Indian Link

November 2021

anotherday.

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

Sales And Marketing

CharuVij, PriyankaHatwalne

Indian Link is a monthly newspaper published in English. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, may be reproduced in partorinwholewithoutthewrittenconsentofthe editor.Opinionscarriedin Indian Link arethose of thewritersandnotnecessarilyendorsedby Indian Link. Allcorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedto:

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Email: info@indianlink.com.au s we headtoDiwali,COVID-19 imposedrestrictionsarealso ending in two ofAustralia's largeststates, and there is promiseof resumingnormallife. Strange tobeanalysing'normal' and 'notnormal' life, but then thelast 18monthshave been, well, largelystrange.

Wehaveallbeen livingalife of suspendedanimation in whichwe seemto bemoving,butnotgoinganywhere. Both VictoriaandNSWhavegone through extendedlockdowns, withMelbourne holdingthegrimrecordof 264days of cumulative lockdown overa 570dayperiod. Sydneysidershad 12 Local Governmentareas undercurfewand other strictlockdown measures.Andletusnot talkaboutinterstate orinternationaltravel.

So, whatareson1ethe takeawaysof the last 18months?

1. Firstup, Carpediem, or'Seize theday'. Do that thingyou'vealways wanted to do, thatthing thatyouthought was too expensiveor tootime-consuming or you were too oldfor.Don'tputitofffor

2. Don'ttakefamilyandloved onesfor granted.Therearewaytoomany storiesofnearand dearonestaken fromusbythisdeadlyvirus. Life is unpredictable; buildand enjoygood relationships.

3. Settimeaside forahobby. Our professionallives giveusstrict regimentation. Beingin workmode evenafterclocking off, isarecipefor burnout.Tocreatebalance,developa hobbywhichallowsyoutorelax. Find an activitythatinducesflowstate, that feelingofbeingsoimmersedinan activity thatyoulose track of time.

4. Appreciate science.It wasscience that steppedupto themarkin the recent healthcrisis,andinless thana year, managed toresearch,trial, and approve anumberofvaccinestofightthis virus toamazingresults.

5. Value thegiversamongstus.It's amazedme tolearnhowordinary thepayscalesare of our healthcare workers, educatorsandotherswho work to increasethequalityof our lives.Perhaps itisintheircalling to makethe worlda betterplaceandto giveratherthantotake,ascompared tootherprofessions thatare more take thangive. Myrespectforthoseon the frontlinesof thispandemic.

6. Cherishyourfriends. Friendship networks sustainus throughadversity. While we'velearnednow tolive with virtual socialnetworks(havingadded Zoomonlymonthsago),itis vital to maintain realrelationshipsbeyond thoseWhatsApp emojis,Facebook likes,or280charactersorlesson Twitter.Tophysically 1neetandgreet, exchangeideas, debateserious issues, discuss frivolousmatters, sharecreative endeavours- thesearehealthyaspects ofsocialrelationships.

7. Trust thegovernmentsatalllevels toactas shock absorbersattimes ofcrises. Afterall, theycanprint money,andtheyareawareof their powertohelptheirconstituents. Evenif theirgoalis towinvotesand retainpower, forthose inneed, the government'scapacity torollout grantsandincentives shouldnot be underestimated. Infact, if they demonstratedtheirpower duringthe financialcrisisin2008andCOVD-19 in2020-21,then theycanunleashthat capacitytocreate momentumshould theydecide to take onclimatechange.

We eachhaveourowntakeawaysand memories fro1n thelast two yearsof intermittentlockdowns, what we valueand treasureremainsa verypersonaljourney.

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