FIRST COVID TEST- NEGATIVE

SECOND TEST- NEGATIVE

My hubby tested twice after his India trip as I was paranoid about COVID. And just as we slackened the quarantine after his negative test results, that’s when we got stumped by COVID.

First, it was my hubby. The symptoms surfaced, and his third test result came positive. It was merely a matter of time before the rest of us started showing signs too, and eventually, we were all down with the virus-like dominoes.

Remember the Dementors, the dark creatures in the Harry Potter movies who feed on positive emotions generating depression and despair. That’s how I feel about this virus. Similar to Dementors- the dark wizardly creatures, the COVID virus drained me of all my energy, and I was nothing but a piece of jello tossing and turning on my bed. My body was hurting, and my fever kept rising. Cough followed soon after.

With all of us sick, I knew it was time to ask for help. I texted my neighbor friends, and I also sent a message to the universe, “I’m open to receiving.”

Soon after, my doorstep was pouring with hot food, medicines, and groceries. And most importantly, prayers and well wishes.

I was sick for the longest time in my family. The fevers kept coming, and I was exhausted, but prayers and love from friends and family kept me going. I got messages from strangers (my friend’s friends) praying for our full recovery.

So what helped in recovery?

I felt surrounded by so much warmth and love that recovery from COVID was inevitable. This association with my family, neighbors, and friends made me feel I’m not alone. I belonged. And it is this support system that played a vital role in my road to recovery. None of us in my family went to the hospital, and my entire family recovered at home.

Though isolated from the world, never in my life, I’d felt so well connected. It was clearly an energy exchange, and I was open to embracing all the positive prayers and love that the universe was sending.

There is much emphasis on independence in today’s society, such that asking for help is considered undignified. But in this circle of life, there would be times when we feel fragile; and during these down moments, it is absolutely okay to ask for help.

And then receiving is a beautiful thing too. Receiving with grace makes us humble and binds our society into an unspoken promise —a code of conduct to help and support each other. It offers the giver an opportunity to participate in our lives. This give-and-take energy exchange blesses both the receiver and giver, making the world a more kind place for all.

I can never dream of repaying the love and care I received during these dire times, BUT I know I can always pay it forward.

This pandemic year of 2020 is about to pass us by, leaving many of us scarred with lessons learned and some still to learn. For me, the biggest takeaway was the understanding of the give and take energy exchange that binds us all, making us human.

What’s your takeaway?