Inspired by the following quote by famous poet, Jane
Hirshfield:
“Some questions
cannot be answered. They become familiar weights in the hand. Round stones
pulled from the pocket, unyielding and cool.”
Not a single
day goes by in our lives, when watching TV, reading newspapers or observations
in our environment do not question our minds and souls with the word – why?
Watching
innocent children dying because of poverty or disease, we inquire why is there
unequal distribution of money and resources? Is an effluent nation justified in
enjoying lavish food, superb quality of life and spending on luxuries while one
sixth of the world’s population lives below poverty line and struggles for
survival within a meager daily income of a dollar? We sympathize with the poor
but looking at the other side of the picture makes us realize that we cannot
ignore the many years of education and hard work of a man who is working
tirelessly to enjoy a better life. If poor nations are continuously provided
aid does it extinguish the spark of ambition and encourage parasitic behavior?
Is the prevalent inequality due to unequal labor or unequal opportunities?
We start to
oscillate between our opinions, like a pendulum. We try to find answers but our
questions become round stones pulled from the pocket - unyielding and cool. We
get confused but stones keep emerging – we keep moving from one question to
another – why does one smoke when one knows it’s injurious to health? In a war
of nations does killing and devastation serve anyone’s interest? What changes a
human being into a cold-blooded murderer? Who is responsible for a crime – a
criminal’s personal interests, his upbringing or injustices of the society? If
Nobel Prize winners are the role models – why do we place them on pedestals
beyond humanity to be praised but not pursued? If we claim to detest prejudice,
are we tolerant enough to judge the other person beyond his appearances or
actions?
The answer to
these questions will always remain divisive if instead of answering these
questions ourselves we keep on expecting the answers from others. Our self
deception, hypocrisy and personal interests will continue to form the mist that
blocks our vision.
Therefore, to find the answers to these questions I
promise to be honest with myself. Instead of waiting for someone else to make
my beloved home planet a better place to live I shall undertake the
responsibility to do everything in my capacity to contribute positively to my world.
As I strive in pursuit of my dreams I pledge that I will always try to combat
my human errs of selfishness, discrimination and injustice. Believing in myself,
I look forward to light my lamp in the darkness
