Saturday, November 01, 2008

WE the PEOPLE

In a few moments of idleness today, I was sitting and thinking. Here is what I figured. It may not be a splendid read but might just make sense if you think over it and ponder for a few moments in your spare time, but spare time is a rare commodity and I shall not be least surprised if you find none in your busy schedule.

Throughout my life, I have often heard the elders talking about how our generation is way too different from them and how we have an entirely different perspective of looking at things. We all know that nothing happens without a reason and behind this seemingly different behavioural pattern too there is an array of reasons. Times have changed and so have we as humans. Whether we have truly progressed or regressed is debatable but here are a few things that might be the reason for us being the way we are!

We have seen and experienced a lot in these short spans of lives. To begin with, we belong to the generation that saw the turn of the millennium in their adolescence. Back in 1999, I hardly remember a person who I did not hear talking about Y2K, the year 2000. Almost everyone was talking about how the world would come to a standstill because computers wouldn’t work and things like that. It has been eight years since the turn of the millennium and nothing happened because the problems were taken care of. We belong to the generation that has seen the rise of wars and terrorism like no generation before us. From Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran to Kargil, there has been war everywhere! Terror strikes all across the globe have made us doubt the existence of humanity at times but in the race of everyday life, we have put all of it behind us. We watch the news and forget it. A lot of us are living in alien cities without our families and resort to social networking sites to keep in touch with who we call friends. I must confess that I am one of those myself and I have the time tested excuse “I have no time”. So today, saying hello to a friend means punching out a few words on the keyboard because that’s the easiest way out. We are probably a little more selfish than our predecessors but I think it is just the survival instinct coming into play. In this world, we have to live! We have seen messengers of humanity like Mother Teresa and others leave this world and that spreading fear is fast becoming the prerequisite to gaining respect. The differences between having sex and making love are fast disappearing and the idea of asking someone out for coffee is slowly losing its shelf life. Cigarette and dope sales are shooting through the roof in spite of the fact that we all understand what the flip side is. Are we then headed towards self destruction? No, not quite. I think it is just our way of combating the stress life subjects us to. In fact, the kids now growing up are probably having a harder time because the number of kids playing in a park on any given evening is dwindling rapidly. Looks like it will not be long before they go extinct and the idea of having a good time jumping around in the evening while getting all messy will be no more than a fable. Our lifestyle and we as people are undergoing a metamorphosis, thanks to the pressure that life subjects us to.

What then is the solution? Do we just sit and wait till doomsday to arrive? No. Though, I don’t want to make this sound like a moral science lecture because I don’t think I am qualified enough to deliver one by any parameter but maybe what we can do is sit for a while everyday and go over everything that happened. Maybe we can say hello to the people we really care about just once in a day to let them know that we are thinking of them. Maybe we can take a look at the old photographs and revive the memories entombed in them. There are a lot of things we can do. They need not be of epic proportions. They can be small things because sometimes small things make huge differences. Some people might have an excuse that they don’t have time but remember, nobody has the twenty fifth hour in the day and yet some manage to do all this. So does it mean they are more efficient than the ones who just crib about the lack of time? Think about it if you have a moment.

Adios.

6 comments:

My space :) said...

I really liked what you wrote. It's an eye opener really. Time to wake up and smell the coffee and start giving more time to people who matter rather than running behind material gains.

I agree with you on alot of things you said. From wars to Y2K to our generation being different.

Bravo Mr Gupta..!

Whats in a name.......... said...

i agree with My Space on that. we have started living in a world where everything is 'instant', from coffee to relationships!
wish we could understand the importance of sitting back, thinking and pondering over our actions before its a bit too late.

Shom's portfolio said...

@my space: you liked what i wrote?! really?! great! and i am not saying don't run behind material gains...but just ease up...look around because there is more to life!
what say?
@wian: you're such an "agreeable" darling! and i loved the statement about everything being instant. most people think pondering is a waste of time! they'd rather watch things on the idiot box! ;)

ladies! what would i do without your wonderful comments!!

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