ESSAY

When the World Slowed Down

Prioritizing emotional well-being.

A woman wearing a linen apron in her backyard garden holding flower from the garden. source ai generated

The world is slowly going back to conservation of nature and more eager to learn about gardening, growing their own food, farming, etc. This appears to be a good start if they are able to continue it. How humans conserve natural resources depends a lot on healthier future.

Cooking

The world has slowed down after the Covid. People who ordered food frequently started cooking their own food. Since, it was too expensive to buy food, everyone was watching YouTube cooking videos for different kinds of recipes. There was lots of time in hand and lots of room for experimentation.

I could see people posting videos of cooking and baking. Some even started their own channel on social media and YouTube during that time. They are doing good now also. Men started their own cookery channels. This was the time they realized that how much effort went into cooking and the wives who spent hours in the kitchen got some relief too. An old saying, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” became vice-versa. It works on woman too!

Gardening

Gardening became so popular during Covid that people started growing their own vegetables and fruits at home. Vegetables and other grocery were so expensive that few people turn toward gardening. Tomatoes, beans, green chilies, coriander, brinjal, and leafy vegetables were easy to grow at home with terrace or in balconies. It took less space and didn’t require too much watering. Especially in big cities where space was a concern, the idea of terrace gardening was fruitful.

People used whatever was available at home such as, big water cans, plastic containers, buckets, plastic bags, etc. for gardening. One of my friends grew lemons and bottle gourds on her terrace. This was an inspiration to many who weren’t into gardening.

Fitness

There was a huge breakthrough in the health industry. People who went to gym regularly suffered severe breathing issues switched to mediation and yoga. The other part of the population who were on weaker side switched to gym and body building. Fitness became the focus. Everyone took an hour or so from their busy schedules and began morning walks, cycling, yoga, mediation, gym, etc. This was an awareness toward taking care of themselves. It didn’t stop there. Now, I can see every corner of the street has a gym or fitness center. Yoga has made its way back to our daily lives. Self-care and self-love are a very important part of daily life.

Slow living is returning. People are still gardening and farming apart from their IT work, business, or teaching. Some of them own organic farms where they grow fruits and vegetables. They sell it to their close friends at half price because it is organic. This is a good start if we can continue with healthy way of living.

Of course, health is wealth.

— ©Rekha Balachandran

Edited for Word Garden by Wandering Mind