By Stacy Rodrigues

Panaji, April 19, 2020: So lost in our day to day lives, various activities and colourful future plans– had anyone thought of this phase? Suddenly a small virus brought it all to a standstill.

To many, life has paused; to a few, life has taken a U-turn and for me absolutely nothing has changed. To many I will sound unreal with the statement I made but, it is a fact– I have spent most of my life in a lock down because of my disability where emptiness simply thought me to think positive and make the best of all the time I have in hand which introduced me to my true self and has made me what I am today.

There is a lot that I do to keep myself busy apart from teaching yoga on regular bases- the lock down was a break that was much needed for me if I look at it positively. After making sure that I had enough of stock of food in hand that would sustain my small family for a while, I began to do what I really wanted to do.

I believe the phase that we are going through is the time for self- realisation this fact enables me to make the best of it. I reflect on life, read spiritual books, study and try to spend most of my time in meditation- a schedule that sounds boring but this is something that keeps me grounded and brings me peace.

To me life is beautiful even this way because it helps me value life all the more along with nature, the silence helps me feel the pain of those less fortunate during this phase which enables me to do my bit in whatever way I can and it is the time that has brought me more closer to the Almighty my family and myself.

Every spare moment is a blessing if one looks at it positively, it gives you an opportunity to look within yourself and introduces you to a person you never knew– someone with a lot of capabilities.

(Stacy Rodrigues is a multi-talented 32 year-old old woman, who is not only a painter but also a trained Indian classical singer and poet. She is also a trained and certified Yoga teacher and a spiritual counselor. What makes her unique is the way she deals with her challenge that life has given her. She is suffering from Herodo Macular Degeneration and has only 20 percent vision. She wants to be remembered not just as a visually impaired painter but for her work and spirit to lead a normal life. In her book IN SEARCH OF- a Journey of Finding Oneself, Stacy recounts her hard journey from childhood, learning to live independently in spite of her disability.)