Times of Change

A lot of things have changed quite drastically over the past couple of months. A previously unknown virus in a far-flung corner of the world has managed to turn itself into a pandemic. It was able to turn the world upside down. bringing countries to a standstill.

With lockdowns and isolation rules in place, bustling cities are deserted. There's a calm and quietness everywhere. Which in a way is quite nice, if you can ignore the big hit on the economy.

The economy of countries will bounce back, so will the big business, no matter how much crying they do at the moment. It's the small businesses that have the most risk of going under. The small entrepreneurs, the mum & pop shops, home-business owners, will have a tough time getting back. Some have sadly bitten the dust already.

It must be difficult for individuals as well, who are enduring lockdowns and isolation. Especially the elderly, and the disadvantaged. A lot of people are suffering silently, and only they know what is really happening inside.

While most people are trying to do the right thing by adhering to the lockdown rules, there are still some people who think that this is a hoax and decides to just ignore common sense. I gave up trying to understand how their brains work.

If we can take away one thing from this pandemic, it is to re-evaluate our priorities as a species. Do we keep destroying our world or do we try to heal it?

These Days...

...are days of uncertainty
...are days full of fear
...are days of loneliness
...are days of boredom
...makes you appreciate the little things in life
...you cherish your loved ones, near or far
...are a time to rethink our priorities
...are a time to evaluate what we value the most
...are a time to contemplate our past
...are a time to reconsider our future
...are a time to let the world heal

What a great year you have been so far 2020. You brought a lovely little pandemic with you and managed to know the globally economy on it's head. I'd say that deserves A+.

(Yes, I'm being sarcastic...)

But, on the other hand, you did give the world a much deserved break. A little me time for Mother Earth to get some R & R. So not an entirely bad situation at all.

I'm not sure how things are going to go the rest of the year, but I'm optimistic that it will get better.

I've realised a couple of things though. One, don't focus too much on long term plans and lose sleep over it. The way things are, even the next hour is unpredictable. So focus on the moment and the short term. If you do things right now, then the long term plans will fall into place on their own.

Two, your family is the most important part of your life. It doesn't matter if you are single, in a relationship, married, have kids or not. All of us have someone who is dear to our heart. Cherish them and let them know how much they mean to you.

Keep faith that things will get better. Use common sense and listen to the experts. You will be safe.

Stay safe and take care,

Peace!

Random Clicks

Fresh from the Sea

Came across some fishermen reeling in one of those huge fishing nets ashore. In Sinhalese these are called "මාදැල්" (maadal). It's tiring work, and I think it takes more than 3 hours to drag the whole thing in.

There was a reasonable harvest as well, enough to fill up several big baskets. Most of the catch were small fish like Sardinella (සාලයා), Ponyfish (කාරල්ලා), young Trevally (පරා), Indian Mackerel (කුම්බලා), and some other species which I'm not familiar with. There were two huge fish caught as well.

Once all the fish are gathered, the fishermen took it to the side of the road and sold it off then and there. More than half of it was gone within a few minutes.

The entire process of catching fish like this is a tiring, and time consuming process. They have to take the net by boat into sea and lay it out the night before, and in the morning reel it back in. The boats are small out rigger canoes enough to fit two people, and constantly jostled by the waves. The whole thing is a team effort. You need at least 10 people to reel the net in. The more people there is, the quicker the process, but more dividend to give out.

Take a little time to appreciate all the ground level people who contribute to the process of keeping us off starvation. The farmers, fisher folk and others involved in agriculture. As a nation, we should be independent and self sufficient in agriculture and food. At least enough to keep all the people without starving in case something happens. Believe me, nobody is going to give us free food just because we have a huge import account with them.

Neglect

I'm guilty of neglecting this blog for too long...

I used to post something at least once a week back then, but as time goes on, and life become more complicated, this has been pushed way down the line in terms of priority.

I used to love searching, gathering information and putting together an interesting post about a subject that interested me, and I still love to do it. Alas, time is limited.

I sometimes wonder how things got so complicated.

Being part of the rat-race, trying to keep your head above the water, where the ultimate goal is to get out of the water and onto that elusive beach made up of cheese.

And everywhere you look, millions of rats are doing the same thing. Clambering over each other, fighting with each other, dragging others underwater, so that they can get above the water.

Why? you ask yourself.

Because you have responsibilities. That is why...

But, sometimes, you just want to stop swimming and enjoy the insanity that is going around you, even for a brief moment, until the water starts pulling you under and you start scrambling for dear life.

Some random clicks

Snapshots from Hunas Falls