Three decades later and some contemplations

So here I am again!

As I am contemplating a day of celebration of making it to existence for THREE decades I quickly realise that I probably have been brain washed in thinking that this is something overwhelming. I am supposed to have done x and y and achieved z along the way. This I would probably call the influence of cultural, social and environmental psychosocial realism! As if you are neither any better or wiser or more grown up if you have not done or have whoever todays society have deemed as an idol have or have done. As if this is a bench mark for success and prosper to be compared to.

However as I contemplate a bit deeper and start taking the "I" away from my thoughts and start reflecting on some worldly facts during my 3 decade existence, I quickly realise that things don't seem to be all ok around me, take a look; there are now:

1. More natural disasters than there has ever been before: earthquakes (Haiti-222, 570, South-Asian tsunami-226, 408, Kashmir-73338) floods (Mumbai-1200).

2. More wars than ever before: last decades Child victims of war include an estimated 2 million killed, 4 to 5 million disabled, 12 million left homeless, and more than 1 million orphaned.

3. More nuclear, weapons and military spending than ever before: Current global military spending has reached $781 billion annually; more than the total income of the poorest 45% of the global population. 49% of all federal tax revenues in the US go towards current or past military costs.

4. More landmine killings than ever before: between 60 and 70 million landmines are in the ground in at least 70 countries. Land mines maim or kill approximately 26,000 civilians every year.

5. More deaths from unsafe waters than ever before, children are most affected; every year, unsafe water, coupled with a lack of basic sanitation, kills at least 1.6 million children under the age of five years.

6. More continues deaths from diarrhoea, which easily treated; every year 2.2 million (HIV/AIDS, Malria and Tuberculosis remains the deadliest causes).

7.More people living in poverty (probably exacerbated by the number of wars) than ever before; 1.29 billion people is estimated by UN to live in absolute poverty defined as $1.25 per day (by World bank).

8. More people experiencing neurotic health conditions than ever before: at present 40% of disability worldwide is due to depression and anxiety.

9.  More women experiencing exploitations than anytime previously; in South Africa, a woman is killed every 6 hours by an intimate partner, In India, 22 women are killed each day dowry related, in Guatemala, two women are murdered each day by violent partner and 3 million British women experience violence every year. 80% of the estimated 800,000 people trafficked annually are women (79% for sexual purposes) and between 40 and 50 per cent of women in European Union countries experience unwanted sexual harassment at their workplace.

10. More people in debt than ever before: in Britain personal debt has reached £1.4tn – almost the same amount as Britain's national economic output.

So not much has actually changed for the better during my existence in fact if a wave of pessimism is allowed into this whole mix of facts much has become a lot worse! And the most important question which really deserves all contemplation is how has my living for 3 decades affected/impacted or contributed (positively) to lessening these dire facts? I decide to keep the answer silent for my inner thoughts but I hope that I am not alone in wanting to think about and question my stay on earth for 30 years in such fashion and what my contribution has actually been.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth”

Muhammad Ali

New beginings

I just wanted to start this blog with a dear, but then quickly realised that this is not an email or I am not writing for somebody or maybe I am and I haven't caught your name yet! So I have named this post a new beginning and began thinking how many such occasions have I had now in my life. Couple of years ago I had one of those moments where you sit with yourself in deep reflection of your where your life is heading and believe it or not this happens to me more often than the average person. In my midst of reflection I made a promise that if god willed that every so often when I loose my umff of passion to just get up and look for new experiences, adventures which could possibly give a sense of personal growth and a sense of making a difference somehow. Am I making sense here. So I decided roughly I would do this every 3 years since over the years I have the pleasure of getting to know myself pretty well I quickly realised that that is the longest time I can last in an environment before I get a move on symptom and a year ago was that moment.

What happened was that upon quickly realising I needed a new start I originally applied to a position abroad and the whole process took a year or so and things were too complicated and sadly it was impossible to make a reality. However straight after this an opportunity opened up and it was not abroad but here in the UK but in a different city far from home. This meant that I had to leave my family home, start of in a new city, knowing no-one and basically getting on with it. A year on I  must say this has been the most challenging, enriching, humbling experiences I have ever had with a twist of self discovery and appreciation with a glimpse of hope, happiness and light. I therefore would like to begin my forthcoming posts with sharing my experiences of what I see, experience and learn.


So for next time..................

Peace


May these words have a positive impact on you as much as it had on me.

By Theodore Roosevelt