Never Sated
Be careful what you wish for
Before 2020, maybe some people wish that you need a break and spend more time with their family at home. Then with all sudden, their wish granted with almost a year confined in four walls almost 24/7.
Personally, as someone who has an introvert trait, at first, somehow I enjoyed this type of new normal. Where every gathering, meetings, and working conduct virtually because the majority of people pushed to work from their home (WFH).
This new way of work I think has several benefits, for instance, more efficient in terms of time. For those who work in the office 9 to 5, maybe some of them just simply wake up, have a bath, get dressed, then start working in front of our laptop or computer. Whereas in normal condition (before this pandemic), I spent 4 hours in total by train or merely 2 hours by car to commute home-office-home. In total, I spent 10-20 hours in a week of working hours.
Those precious time surely can be used to do something more productive, such as read more books, join an online course, write more articles, exercise, doing house chores, and appreciably more.
In addition, as a journalist who is working for a specific sector, this new normal gives me an opportunity to, again, time-saving to interview a spokesperson and to cover news via online meeting application.
However, this forced lifestyle also has some drawbacks for productivity. As a social being no matter how introvert the individual is, we need to socialize with others. For example, our close relatives. I feel like something is missing when I cannot see them in the Eid al-Fitr a year ago. Luckily, I still have a chance to meet one family on my father side twice or once in a month because we live in the same city.
Moreover, I feel like working at home a bit of cramped creativity and makes me less motivated because of monotony, repeatable activities and sights. I assume that it also because of the longing of my parents’ home town, Magelang, as a small town that I prefer to release the stress of the chaotic concrete jungle and daily activity. Usually, I visited Magelang 2–3 times a year. Sadly, last year I only visited Magelang once.
Again, some people might be got their wish granted, yet with those downsides, they might be started to complain about this pandemic which makes them become prisoner in their own house. To fulfil human needs and wishes feels like drinking a salty water when they are thirsty. Wanting more something that never eases their thirst.
So, why not just be grateful for what we experienced in life, both good times and bad times? Because we never know if the opposite thing that we wish happened in the future.
To close this article, I want to share with you my favourite quote that I found from Daily Stoic on Twitter that become my phone wallpaper. This quote also become a reminder for me to stop complaining and start accepting every unfortunate things that occur in my life.
“I may wish to be free from torture, but if time comes for me to endure it, I will wish to bear it courageously and with honour” — Seneca
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay sane dear readers!
