We are already past the middle of 2021, and what a year it has been. What a terrible couple of years the 2020s decade has chosen to begin with. So much suffering, loss of life and scars that are likely to remain for much longer.
We even have some of the makings of the roaring twenties that the world witnessed a century ago, thanks to excess liquidity, soaring corporate profits and wealth. Perhaps a lot of this will manifest itself in pent-up demand over the next few months and years.
Which is not such a bad thing, when you consider how entire sections of economies have been battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many economies across the world are in the process of reopening for business, and are people looking forward to it! Millions of folks who were unemployed, furloughed and working from home for over a year, will now be back at work, whether at office or from home. They will be meeting each other at offices and socially, and hopefully their favourite haunts will also spring back to life once again. Restaurants, cafes, shops, salons, gyms and so many small businesses that had to shutter down, will now reopen their doors to customers, though many might have been forced to close for good.
And millions of people like us will get a chance to step out once again and catch up with old friends and relatives, people we hadn’t had a chance to see for what seems like an eternity. It is no small occasion this, for we will be looking to pick up the thread from where we left it last.
But, the way this pandemic has affected our lives and work, should we even expect people we know to be the same?
Might be a better idea to simply be grateful for small mercies and look forward to whatever life and friendships have in store for us.
And although it will be a while before we in Goa can step out to life as we knew it (the lockdown here has been extended by yet another week!) I hope you enjoy your return to life as it was meant to be and the sense of freedom that comes with it. Do stay safe and well, though.
Peripatetic Perch 