Dear friends

Hope you are doing well.

Between the chaos, uncertainty and fears during this lockdown, we’ve been given time to reset ourselves, start fresh and create a new normal. What seems like a curse now, might result in a blessing. This much needed break gives us time to ponder about what really holds value (happiness and ethics vs money and greed, for example) and a reminder of our place in this world (as part of nature, not above it).

In the hustle before #corona, we were lost, we had forgotten the purpose of life and we were chasing happiness in wrong places and destroying the world in the process. Consumerism, greed, animal cruelty, deforestation, polluting land, air and water. We can't blame the virus for the situation we are in. It is "each one of us" who is responsible for this pandemic. But nature is calling us, giving us a chance (perhaps the last one) to get it right.

Let us all take this time seriously and not waste it completely on Netflix, houseparty, fooling around or in worry and fear. It's time to look back, and introspect on the choices we made, how they have impacted the environment and the people around us. Has the excesses in our lives made us happier or only fueled the desire for more and more?

Let's make a fresh start.

Let sustainability be the new normal. Choose people over profit (humanity should not be lost), and planet before people (destroying the nature has put us in current situation). Be mindful and spiritual. Infuse kindness in our lives.

When we cause suffering to others, we are inviting trouble for ourselves. That's how nature works. So before you put animals on your plate next time or reach out for that designer handbag made from someone's skin (by putting them through suffering and death) - think about its the boomerang effect on you. Even if you ignore it, you can't escape it.

Our every action and choice has a ripple effect - it's time for us to make the right one. This lockdown is giving us one thing we need to get back this world on track - "time to start fresh". Let's make wise use of it.

Sincerely
Shruti Jain