In These Difficult Times, Here Are 10 Stories To Cheer You Up

Amid the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, life under quarantine and isolation is not easy. For most of us who like travelling, morning walks and eating out, being bound inside the four walls of a house can lead to helplessness and restlessness.

Besides that, waking up every day to a daily dose of bad news only adds to the anxiety.

However, in the midst of such difficult times, positivity is what keeps us going. Instead of focusing on what makes us unhappy, why not celebrate the small improvements that isolation and quarantine have made in our lives?

Think of how these days, book lovers who are otherwise occupied with work get ample time to read. When you come out to your balconies, you see others in their verandas engaging in happy conversations.

Bored of your phone, you spend time talking to your parents and loved ones. Think about how happy your pet is because you stay with him or her all the time.

In times as tough as these, here are 10 stories to cheer you up.

1. While the needy are living in much more tough situations than us, not everyone is sitting back home doing nothing. NGOs and social workers in Kerala's Kozhikode are making arrangements to distribute food among the needy and disadvantaged.

2. While we remain worried about police misconduct most of the time, here are police personnel from Puducherry giving roses to doctors, medical staff and other people providing essential services amid the coronavirus outbreak, as a token of appreciation.

3. Not all heroes wear capes! In Delhi, police and locals joined hands to distribute freshly-cooked food among the needy in Sadar Bazaar area.

4. As the lockdown entered its third day, police in Punjab's Ludhiana and Jalandhar distributed food among the needy. In a similar gesture, police personnel deployed at Civil Lines Police Station in Prayagraj prepared and distributed food among the needy.

5. Amid the lockdown, street dogs are helpless as people who regularly feed them are not leaving their houses. The hungry animals are roaming the streets in search of food. Restoring our faith in humanity, two sisters, Kajal and Disha, provided food to stray dogs in Nagpur. One of them says, "It's our responsibility to feed them in this difficult time".

6. Not everyone lets disappointments bring them down. Here is a team of workers at a government hospital in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, singing a song to keep up their spirits amid the fight against COVID-19.

7. Despite the difficulties, people have not lost their faith in the Almighty. In Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, people participate in a 'Hanuman Aarti' from their balconies and terraces. Isolation has indeed brought people closer to each other.

8. Social workers in Kolkata are doing the best they can to help the needy. They distributed food to destitute people who have taken shelter at the underpass of Dum Dum railway station."While the nation is fighting against COVID-19, we are fighting against hunger," one of the social workers says.

9. At a time when we are facing acute scarcity of masks and hand sanitizers due to either insufficient supply and increased demand, a self-help group of women from Giridih district of Jharkhand has created their own home-made version of masks and sanitizers which they claim to be just as effective as the regular branded ones in the markets.

Similar efforts by women's self-help groups from Latehar and Godda districts have been reported too.

10. While the lockdown has been implemented only in the best interests of people, there is a certain section among us that we seem to have left to their own devices - the daily wage labourers.

In the event of the entire country being closed, save some essential services, the daily-wage labourers, who make their earnings on a per-day basis, have been facing extreme shortage of not just money, but food as well.However, thanks to some truly good-hearted people like Vandana Upadhayay, District Coordinator, Ranchi, a lot of daily-wage earners have been taken good care of.

Setting up a 'Roti Bank', she ensures that the necessary food and ration items reach the ones who are hungry and feel helpless.

"While we all are busy helping our own people and looking after their needs, there remains a section of the population that we often ignore. It is our duty to take care of them in such odd circumstances," Vandana says.

During a lockdown that has confined us to our homes for an unusually long time, the best way to live life is to look for the little things that make us happy in an otherwise exhausting world.

Also Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Assam To Provide Mid-Day Meals At Home, Tripura To Start Community Kitchen For Homeless