Talk of
‘giving back’ to society is in the air. It resounds in the social spaces we
glide in and out of. And there is a nice little futuristic tint to these
proclamations. There is this ever prevalent mass notion that chides us for
having received so much. The understanding is that sometime in the future, when
the hour is ripe and the pronouncer settled and secure enough, they are going
to teach underprivileged children or adopt a few or maybe volunteer in an old
age home. “Something worthwhile that preferably does not call for too much
time. We are all so fortunate; we must do our bit by this hopeless world. The times
are becoming so dangerous. Surely that places a moral responsibility on us for
donating old clothes to Goonj or celebrating our personal events in an SOS
village or clicking the smile box while booking ourselves a movie ticket.”
What strikes
me is the implicit belief in one’s immortality these plans project, as though to
say there is plenty of time before the skin starts scaling and the winds go out
of the sails.
It is
commendable to want to do something meaningful to make a difference. The
assumption here is that one has achieved enough of a personal nirvana to now
work for the betterment of others. What if I were to say one’s primary duty is
to one’s own development and one lifetime is not good enough to get to that
sharpness? And that rather than fix the outside, if we worked on our own interiors
that would earn the human race a greater, longer lasting return.
Too many of
us want to accuse, protest and suspect the agencies outside of us. We foam at
the mouth over the ethical toxicity surrounding us. There is righteous outrage
at the violence in communication. With some, the despair is so great that we withdraw
from our public spaces.
Begin by
calming and cleansing yourself, I say. Reorient! Reboot! Reset the mind’s exhaust
engine. Hose away the clogged consciousness; vacuum out the cobwebs sitting on
the heart. Begin living the exemplary life you want to see others live. Go
after the happiness you deserve. Pack your days with feel good hormones. Wash
yourself in Vitamin D. Release your peeves and resentments and hurts. Please
get off that guilt trip. Sit down and punch out that bucket list.
You are
enough. You are here, breathing, whole and full of possibilities. Quit waiting
for the grand moment. When you begin humming with a sense of accomplishment and
confidence, the trees will stretch taller, the grass will go tizzy with
delight. As you dump the baggage of dark emotions behind, the winds will surge
through the new spacious you. Stop the chatter therefore. Shut your eyes for a
moment and breathe a while. It will descend on you. The unbearable joy of
being! Those tears of gratitude will come, steady in the flow.
There is no
boogeyman out there. Do yourself a favour! Banish the one inside.
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