“Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow. There can be no lotus flower without the mud.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

A month has passed since life and the world as we know it, crumbled right in front of our eyes. I have been meaning to write something, anything, but honestly, I’m still trying to come to terms with all that is happening around me. My mood goes from low to high, back to low again, in a matter of hours – depends on what news feeds I’m watching. In general, I am trying to avoid watching the news as well as any other social media. All I need is to be updated on the situation.

This week also marks the second anniversary since we started Sunsets & Tea. I was meant to write some uplifting post, but words are failing me. Maybe this is a lesson – life isn’t all about butterflies and rainbows, and we shouldn’t aim for that. Hard times like these make us step back, and teary eyed, we look at what we can do better. We let life teach us the hard way into finding other ways to feel positive about life. Travel is one of my passions, and it has been taken away for the moment. But how many people around the world don’t even know what travelling for fun is? How lucky are we to just book a flight and go, without a care in the world?

Stepping back and reflecting on life. Gazing through windows and balconies. Taking the occasional solitary walk in nature. Every person needs to deal with this in their own way. As for myself, every week, we are trying to go for a walk in the evening and watch the sunset. Being out of the house and seeing how nature is still thriving, bees are still buzzing, birds are still building their nests, flowers are blooming, and the sun is still rising and setting every day. That gives me hope. Hope that we will rise back up again. Hope that we will get back to it. But not back to our old ways. We will be different. We will be more considerate of others. We will not take travel for granted. We will not take freedom for granted. We will not take life for granted. Because we know how it felt when everything was taken away from us.

But until then, until all of this is over, read more books, watch more movies, listen to more music. Feel connected to the authors, directors, musicians. Look at other perspectives on life and think about the actual life that we are living and how we can make it better. We have been given a second chance at life. Make it worthwhile.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu