An Iota Of Goodness

Two nations. Two horrific stories. One common sentiment- Anger, Outrage and Disbelief at what happened.

I am talking about the Connecticut school massacre and the Delhi rape case – 2 stories which took the 2 nations by storm and resulted in a massive outpour of sentiments by the people.

Adam Lanza- the massacre gunman who took the lives of 20 innocent children aged between 6 and 7yrs and 6 adults of the Sandy Hook elementary school  in one of America’s worst ever school massacres for reason’s yet unknown.

In Delhi, it was the story of a brutal gang rape of a 23 yr old by 6 men in a running bus which ultimately resulted in the death of the girl.

The Mayan prediction of the world coming to an end has not come true but humanity surely seems to have!

It is quite ironical that something so horrendous needs to take place for the people to start rethinking about such important issues as rape punishments/security of women and gun control laws.

Both of these stories really touched my heart and made me think.

But here I would like to ponder a little more over the Delhi case-just because it happened in a country where I come from , is something which affects every girl in our country and  therefore more closer to my heart.

India for ages has been a patriarchal society where women are always considered secondary to their male counterparts in all spheres and strata of society no matter how modern the country is turning.

The country is slowly moving forward with respect to growth and technology but in terms of the mindset of the majority of the population, it is still eons of ages backwards.

The sad part is that even the people leading and governing the country have such a mentality where they think that girls are painted and dented and their shorter clothes and longer nights out are the sole reason for inviting trouble.

If such is the attitude of the leaders of the nation, how can the rest of the people think any different?

There are many questions that arise with these incidents like what kind of punishment should the rape offenders be subjected to or what gun control laws should be put in place to prevent such crimes from happening again.

But in an age where we comfortably sit behind our computer screens browsing- there is nothing much we do other than randomly liking/commenting on   some messages about these victims on Facebook, debating about it with our friends on a Friday evening or burn a candle as part of a candlelight vigil for them.

Therefore in my opinion, the very least we can do is to take a small step in trying to change the attitude of men towards the women of our society.

As they grow, we should teach our boys to be more sensitive and respectful towards girls/ women and towards any individual for that matter. Teach them that girls are not just mere objects of desire but someone who play important roles in your lives and therefore need to be treated with love, care and respect. Treat them as your equals and not someone you look down upon. These values will ensure that your boys don't grow up to be inhuman beasts but young men whom we can be proud of even if it means bringing an iota of goodness to this world.

 And who knows maybe one day this muddy puddle of inhumanity and insensitivity created by these beasts is replaced by a pristine ocean of respect, love and humanity by the goodness of our very own children.

Faster,Higher,Stronger

As I have been watching the Olympics sitting on my couch every evening these past few days, it’s not just the enthusiasm of watching a tight gripping match or a split second win that has been keeping me at the edge of my seat. There’ something more to it….the Olympian spirit which each athlete, each player carries is more than just standing on the podium flashing his/her medal or draping themselves with their country flag on a win to show how they have made their country proud. It’s their attitude, their journey against all odds and adversities which gives us some valuable life lessons.

There are many such players which stand out over the years but I am cherry picking a few :

South Korean archer Im Dong-hyun is legally blind which means he can see only blurred colors and lines when he gazes towards his target about 76 yards away. This doesn’t stop him from being one of the best archers –a sport which ironically requires a great vision to detail.He was the 1^st one to set a world record at the London Olympics.

Polish Natalia Partyka is a one armed table tennis player who holds the paddle with her left hand and uses the crook of her right elbow to serve the ball.  Her disability from childhood did not stop her from following her sister to table tennis games and chasing her own Olympic dreams.

South African Oscar Pistorius is a sprint runner at the Olympics who is also known as the “Blade runner” for his fast running skills. You will ask –what’s new? Is that not expected of an Olympic sprinter to be amongst the fastest runners on earth. The answer is yes except- this is the fastest man on no legs. Oscar has a double below knee amputation but can run on the shot of a gun with the speed of light. His sporting motto- "You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have."

And then there are those with other kinds of personal trials like the U.S gymnast Gabby Douglas popularly known as “The Flying Squirrel” who has gone through many kinds of hardships since childhood being raised by a single mom after her parents separated.  She won 2 gold medals at the Olympics this year.

There is one thing common among all these players. Their attitude. Their challenges did not let them down. They had the strength to carry on despite their obstacles.They had the courage and aspiration to follow their dreams. They had the courage to try.

And so I ask each one of you- to dive in the deepest depths of your souls to find the things which mean the most to you and find  that one thing which you want to aim for which will give you the reason to challenge yourselves beyond your comfort zone ,beyond what you think is your true potential and stick to the fight even when you are hardest hit and not say quits when the dark clouds of doubt hover over your head.

Have the courage to chase your dreams and face adversties even if they sometimes pop their ugly heads over your shoulders.

Like Anne Frank once said “Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!"

Going back to the Olympics as the motto goes “Citius, Altius, Fortius –Faster ,Higher ,Stronger”,I wish and hope that at each turn of life ,you can find that one thing which will make you think faster, aim higher and to come out of that experience much stronger!