A New Hope
As we say goodbye to the dreadful year that was 2020 and usher in 2021, it’s time for some self-reflection and mental-cleaning. No matter which side of the political spectrum you are from, ask yourself, “Am I mentally happy?” Happiness is not just defined by your candidate’s victory or defeat, but it’s way deeper than a single dimension of judging someone. Haven’t you distanced yourself from many of your friends and relatives? We have forgotten the good qualities in them and let the bad qualities percolate, and they may not be bad qualities. In our minds, we have judged them to be bad qualities, but for them, they may be important qualities to have.
Here’s a mental exercise that will put things in perspective. When you are angry at a friend or relative because of his (or her) political stance, and you think to yourself, “We can never see eye to eye,” think of that person being dead, gone forever. Nothing is more finite than that. You will never be able to see or speak to him (or her) again. When they are gone, all the fond instances will suddenly become nothing but a memory. This may be a hypothetical exercise for many of us, but the pandemic has turned into a reality for thousands.
2021 is a new beginning for us in many ways…politically, pandemically, and environmentally. Let’s make it a humane year, a year of compassion. If we all are less greedy, less materialistic-minded, letting ourselves rid of the mental burden of holding onto things that will be obsolete in some time as a newer, shinier version will be available that we ‘must-have.’ Unfortunately, it has become a perpetual vicious cycle of greed that clutters our minds. And in this era of instant gratification, many companies have devised a way to deliver it. But have you ever thought about what happens once you get your ‘fix’? Once you open the box of the thing you have ordered, how long does the euphoria last? Also, what about the beautiful packaging your item comes in? Many times, the actual item is way less than the waste it generates. The corrugated box and the peanut or plastic protectors. And then there’s the item itself. Many times, it is attractively packed in plastic that is ripped open in a second but stays on our Earth as non-biodegradable, thus non-compostable refuse for eternity.
Let’s end this cycle and leave a cleaner Earth for our future generation. After all, we came to this Earth with nothing and will leave with nothing. But what we leave behind, will matter. It’s up to us. Either we choose to be remembered fondly or bitterly. Ask yourself, “Am I a hero who saved the Earth or an evil villain that destroyed it?”
We only have one home, Earth. And we are barreling towards destroying it. As much as science has advanced, we don’t have a second planet to inhabit.
