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
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!
ReplyDeleteTragedy 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.
DeleteThat prayer, which you have put up here, is what I have always believed in. Glad to see it here.
ReplyDeleteHard times, as you have rightly mentioned. But we will ride this out.
Take care and stay safe.
My latest post: Pandemic facts and emotions
Let's hope the tide will turn soon.
DeleteThank you for reminding me of this prayer. It is this that we need now more than ever if we are to keep afloat.
ReplyDeleteAnd 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.
Even when death stares into our eyes we're so selfish!
DeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteSadder is that hardly anyone seems to learn the fundamental lessons even from the catastrophe.
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