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Attitudes and mental health

 


We are passing through one of the hardest periods in recent human history because of a pandemic. We have been thrown off our feet by a tiny virus. Our self-confidence is shaken, our medical science stands questioned, and our potential for hope is substantially eroded. We need to buttress our souls now more than ever. While medical science can help us deal with viruses and our physical ailments, we need something more than that to deal with our mental health in times like this.

One of the most beautiful prayers is the Serenity Prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr which has been adapted variously by many individuals and groups. The most common version reads thus:

            God, grant me the serenity 

            to accept the things I cannot change,

            courage to change the things I can,

            and wisdom to know the difference.

If you don’t believe in God and supernatural entities like me, you can leave out that salutation and internalise the spirit of the prayers which is nothing more than an attitude toward external reality.

The reality out there has seldom been good to anyone. The world has never been kind to most creatures. From the innocent pigeons and lambs whose throats were slit before manifold gods’ altars for centuries to the millions of human beings who were sacrificed to appease the deities of various isms, too many ossified souls cry out from mass graves for a more benign world. No, not for revenge. That history is a blood-hungry monster is one of the umpteen falsehoods foisted on us by vested interests. It is not revenge that history thirsts for. It is compassion. It is benignity that history moans for.

The need to change what can be changed is what history longs for. We need to start with our attitudes.

What prompts a government to allow 3.5 million people to gather for a religious ritual when the country had already become the second worst hit victim of the deadly virus? What prompts the medical industry to hike the prices of vaccines and services converting a pandemic into a business opportunity? What motivated black-marketeers to hoard oxygen cylinders when people were gasping for life-breath in nearby hospitals?

Our sick attitudes perhaps killed more people than the pandemic itself. We need to change those attitudes. We can. We can create a healthier world by choosing right attitudes.

PS. This post is part of Blogchatter's CauseAChatter

 

Comments

  1. Aditi KapurMay 4, 2021 at 11:58 AM

    I'm devastated by the extent to which humans have turned brutal. They don't feel for others, self-benefit is the only motive left. Maybe the pandemic is nature's way of taking revenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMay 4, 2021 at 12:24 PM

      Tragedy is one of the ideal situations for character revelation. How we respond to calamities reveals our character. We should admit that we as a nation exposed our characterlessness these days. Even our leaders, top ones, came out as men of straw.

      Delete
  2. Pradeep NairMay 5, 2021 at 1:24 PM

    That prayer, which you have put up here, is what I have always believed in. Glad to see it here.
    Hard times, as you have rightly mentioned. But we will ride this out.
    Take care and stay safe.
    My latest post: Pandemic facts and emotions

    ReplyDelete
  3. ArtiMay 5, 2021 at 2:31 PM

    Thank you for reminding me of this prayer. It is this that we need now more than ever if we are to keep afloat.
    And agree with your sentiment. The questions you listed in the penultimate para make me sick at our inhumane and selfish attitudes.
    Very well put. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMay 5, 2021 at 2:43 PM

      Even when death stares into our eyes we're so selfish!

      Delete
  4. Chinmayee Gayatree SahuMay 9, 2021 at 12:42 PM

    I so agree with you on this. They say Human beings are the most rational beings of the evolution. But does it stand correct if we see what devastation we have caused so far, all to fulfill our selfish needs and never ending hunger!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMay 9, 2021 at 1:23 PM

      Sadder is that hardly anyone seems to learn the fundamental lessons even from the catastrophe.

      Delete
  5. faizanAugust 8, 2021 at 1:30 PM

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    ReplyDelete
  6. Free Online EarningNovember 8, 2021 at 8:17 PM

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