My Covid and Post Covid Era! The beginning of a New Age!

 It has been a while since I have blogged, and I have decided to revive that habit.

Much water has flowed under the bridge between the time I had last posted something and now.

One of the major change has been me quitting corporate life and trading it for a life that I would want to live at my own pace. With His grace, I have been able to make some movement in this endeavour. When I had envisaged living life at my own pace, I had wanted to be part of creating something new which impacts the life of many individuals and their families. I wanted to be an enabler. They say, charity begins at home and I truly began dreaming big and working towards it. Towards the fag end of 2019, I made my transition hoping to set up my own consulting. Everything was fine, until we saw traces of Covid in China and then before even we could get a grasp of the situation, we were in the grip of Covid, a pandemic that changed the world and my world too. There was a brief moment of panic in terms of what do we do, our son's education, etc. etc. But fortune favours the brave and we hung in and made it. The only blip was me getting knocked out by the same Covid in April of 2021. It was a touch and go and lucky to survive and my doctor said that perhaps my badminton fitness saved me! Unfortunately, lost my Dad at a ripe age of 97 due to old age and the only regret was I could not see him off on his final journey due to my critical situation. Bid him goodbye online!! 

The lock down of 25th March 2020 sealed our hopes. But hung in there and built a dream in Susan, my better half. I had told her I would train her and she would play the Master's World Badminton Championship by 2023. She laughed at me first. But she soon realized that I was serious. Her obsession with fitness was an added advantage which I leveraged and with special permissions from our Housing Society@ Pune, we began our journey. Training hard for almost 4-5 hours a day. What followed was an absolute miracle. In 2021, we managed to qualify to be a part of the Indian team and played the World Championships at Huelva, Carolina Marin Stadium@ Spain. We did encounter a loss to the Germans in the second round, but nevertheless, lived our dream! Of course, a cautionary statement: It is dangerous to train spouses or be hard on them as you would have many a day to starve 🤣🤣🤣🤣, but worth it as we accomplished our dream two years before the planned 2023.

Next in line is the Everest Summit by 2025. God willing and body willing we will make it happen. Right now, Susan is in Rishikesh in prep and doing a one-month Yoga certification course. Badminton being an impact sport, it is taking a toll on the body, and we are doing our best to keep fit and stay injury free. 

My two cents worth to everyone who loses hope or is losing hope - hang in there. There is no stone that does not get shaped by the force of water. Flow freely like water and cut the rock of your life. There is nothing that cannot be conquered by the human endeavor. Do not believe in luck. Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with people whom you can trust. Love them unconditionally. Do not expect anything in return. If they disappoint you, distance yourself and look for people who are trustworthy and you will not be disappointed. Whenever disappointments come by, understand that it is a way of life. The journey of life is all about managing the climbs and descends of life. The way we approach it defines success or failure. Since trust is not a common element in life anymore, sometimes people tend to second guess you. Continue to persevere. Enable and Enjoy. YOU LIVE ONLY ONCE! Best wishes folks! Until next blog, take care!