Looking at the bright side of life

Daily orgy of civilian casualties in the unending armed conflicts around the globe, food and fuel shortages leading to starvation and malnutrition for the large majority of world’s poor, the onslaught of new diseases and massive recurrence of the old ones and the climate change threatening the ultimate survival of our planet have become hard realities in the world we live in. Closer home, the farmers in Vidarbha and fishermen in Vishakaptnam struggling to meet the bare necessities of loaves and fishes, the nation buoyed by the rising incomes on one hand and beset by the rising inequities on the other and unholy trinity of Terrorism, Communalism and Naxalism eating out the social fabric of our society and exposing our injured innards and we the young and the bright lost in the daily rigmarole of quick succession of busy nothings.

Definitely not a very rosy scenario to advocate to look always at the bright side of life. Yet, I stand here to support that we should always look at the bright side of life.

Always looking at the bright side is by-no-means the negation of hard realities but an acceptance of it and going a step further looking for a way out of the current situation. As Jerome K Jerome says “fighting the battle of life is fighting the fearful odds. There are giants and dragons even in this century and the Golden Casket that they guard is not so easy to win as it appears in the story books” However looking at the bright side gives us the hope that there is light at the other side of the tunnel.

Human Civilization was born out of primal chaos and it was this sense of hope that delivered them from the primal chaos. Be it Moses' long march across the desert for the deliverance of his people from the Pharaoh’s forces of chaos or inner struggle of the great sages of ancient India to denounce the culture of violence inherent in Aryan race and look for the deeper meaning of life in the depth of human-self, the underlying driver was this hope of better and more fulfilling future for the human race.

Let’s reflect on some of the events and personalities of the modern era. How did the Jewish communities the world over bounced back within a very short span of time after going through the unspeakable horrors of the holocaust. Leaving aside for a moment the geo-political reasons of their rise as some people might attribute this to, look at the resolve of the men and women who came out of the Nazi concentration camps and went on to become famous scientists, inventors , economists and businessmen. This would not have been possible without them confronting their past and saying “Never Again” and without the deep driving desire for a fulfilling life.

Look at Nelson Mandela and how after spending a large part of his life in prison, he switched to a policy of reconciliation and negotiation and helped lead the transition to multi-racial democracy in South Africa. That would not have been possible if he had remained a prisoner of the past and hadn’t looked at the future in a broader, brighter context.

I come from the rural hinterlands of Bihar and have been witness to floods which are a frequent phenomenon and now have taken the status of an annual festival of sorts thanks to the relief based economic policies of our successive governments. Even then, I have been amazed at how people during distressing times of floods remain jovial and take it in their stride and giving their all to help others. I can not think of any other reason but the inherent belief that the disaster is temporary and better, brighter future awaits on the other side of the catastrophe.

Let me close my argument with the verse from holy Quran that reads “Inna- ma-al –usre usra”– Verily, along with every hardship is relief.