A friend asked me to write about what I am missing the most during this lockdown.

I know what you are thinking. – “Not this again.”

But just hold on. This will only take a minute. (Yes, really. I checked)

This is not to crib about all the things that are going wrong right now because this lockdown has given me (and I believe, you too) the much needed time to upgrade my skills. To learn something new. It has allowed me to spend more time (a little too much) with my family. And some more on my own.

Besides, it wasn’t like I was having the time of my life before the lockdown. At least not in the widely accepted sense.

I say so because I have always loved staying indoors. I enjoyed staying home all weekend reading a book or watching a movie. And, I still love doing that.

So, coming back to the topic, the one thing I miss the most is Liberty.

I do love staying at home, but what I love, even more, is ‘having a choice’ — a choice to do something different.

I could always drive to my friend’s house or go for a long drive with her whenever I want.

I wouldn’t say I like going for a walk every day. But it’s good to know I could enjoy a peaceful walk any day.

I wouldn’t say I like watching every movie in the theatre. But it’s good to have that option open to me for when I wanted to.

I wouldn’t say I like having too many guests in the house. But a visit from a friend after a long time is always a blessing.

I wouldn’t say I like going shopping every weekend. But I like the immediate shopping plans I make, now and then, just because I have nothing good to wear.

Having said that, I would also like to point out –

I am very grateful that ‘liberty‘ is the only thing that I miss right now. And I would happily choose to give some of it up if it means keeping everyone safe.

More than 200 million people lost their job and many more constantly live in the fear of losing them.

Many have lost their life savings and many more are working really hard to ensure they don’t.

More than 12 Million people are fighting the virus in the hospital and many more are fighting the same at home.

And there are no statistics on how many people are grieving the loss of their loved one at this very moment.

So, if you are not a part of this list, know that you are doing better than most.

It’s important to understand that when Benjamin Franklin said, “Any society that will give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”, he wasn’t talking about our current circumstances.

For us, it’s not giving up one for the other; it’s giving up a bit of both today for a better tomorrow.