MUMBAI: With reeling under the threat of second wave, the pandemic is far from over. These difficult times have taken a toll on our existence and also affected our mental health. Everyone is trying their best to hold up. Celebrities have been trying to promote how we all should follow safety measures to deal with the virus and spreading awareness. Apart from all the difficulties, these times have made us compassionate, brought us together and given us enough time to introspect. Celebs share two things they have learnt or realised about life during these trying times. They also talk about three positive things they have started doing every day to happy:

Nitin Kumar Gupta
Being in touch with our family and relatives is important. They are the ones who will be always there for us. The second thing I realised is that life is unpredictable, so we should not take anything for granted. Also, planning for the future is extremely important. To stay happy, I try to jog and exercise outdoors, watching comedy shows and have at least one meal with my parents and siblings.

Prateik Chaudhary
I learnt and realised that life is all about unexpected events and we should always be prepared mentally and physically. Rather than running away or cribbing about it, we should make ourselves strong and face the problems. And have to stay positive. I have started focusing more on my work because I knew the time we are getting now, we won’t get this back ever again in the next 100 years. So I used this time wisely, and was doing my workout at home, worked on my craft, watched a lot of movies and series and helped my mom in cooking. So it’s all about having fun and staying productive. The three positive things that I have been doing is that firstly, I start my day at 5 in the morning and do my workout, secondly I keep myself busy and try to be productive and lastly talking to family and my close friends is the best way to stay happy and positive.

Prashant Bajaj
Two major things which genuinely I learnt are that materialistic things are not everything to be happy in this world and that money is not everything you need for mental peace but that you can only have if you stay close to your family. Three positive things I do daily are meditation, chanting using scented agarbattis at home to purify the environment while playing some nice bhajan.

Srishti Jain
I realised that we take everything for granted on a daily basis. Being able to breathe and have a healthy family are a few things that I should be grateful for. I have started waking up early and positive things to myself. I mediate as that helps me stay in a positive frame of mind. I usually get home and unwind with some me-time.

Pritam Singh
Lockdown taught me that only basics are required to live our life. Luxury does make us happy but not for long. You need to stay close to your dear ones, help those in need and understand yourself better to stay happy.

Hasan Zaidi
I have started connecting and sitting with myself in silence. It’s a great teacher. I now value simplicity and not material things, treasure my family and few close friends. No situation is permanent, we are always in transition. I have started eating healthy, exercise and meditate to stay positive. I express gratitude to the almighty for everything I have.

Prajwal Gupta
During the pandemic I have realised something that though we have divided ourselves in the name of religion, caste, social status etc but when in crisis we all can come together. My lifestyle has changed during the lockdown last year. I have learnt that I do not need too much, it has made me more focused and that I should stay healthy. I have also learnt to value people around me, stay connected to dear ones and sleep well. I started pursuing my hobbies like painting, cooking, playing indoor games.

Sidharrth Sipani
I learned late in my life that money is not important and that I don’t have to fall in love in my 20′s and 30′s but let that happen when it has to. You can be happy without materialistic things but you can’t be happy without being with yourself.

Nuno Oliveira
I’ve learnt that time is the most valuable. Usually our life is so fast paced that we don’t even realise the importance of things that we have and only understand it’s worth when we lose it. The lockdown period has allowed me to value things that I earlier took for granted. I speak with my friends, read books, watch movies and have ice cream almost every day. All these give me inner peace.

Hrishikesh Pandey
Having slowed down our lives, the pandemic has given us free time to introspect. We should stay positive and understand we all have our separate journey. Apart from staying close to my family, I’ve started keeping in touch with all my relatives that was not possible earlier. This pandemic has been telling us that money is not everything and that at the end of the say we are all the same. We should be content with the basics in life, not indulge in petty comparisons and think god about others.