Today marks the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, probably the most defining 10 years of my life that have shaped me into what I am today. 10 years that started with the end of student life, advanced with stepping into the corporate world, and ended with a beginning of understanding my place in this world. 10 years that seemed like a lifetime, but elapsed like a wink of an eye. A time that taught me the greatest lesson in life, that education never stops.
This phase has been dotted with my share of achievements and disappointments, self-realization and missed opportunities and above all, getting a step closer to understanding my strengths and weaknesses. I have realized that I am a complex personality, predictably unpredictable, sometimes to the extent that I get surprised by my own reactions to unexpected stimuli.
Another important lesson I learned about myself was that I cannot plan my life. I can indulge in wishful thinking, take risks and at times play safe, make choices; sometimes good, sometimes regrettable, but I cannot decide how the future will unfold.
In the material world, these 10 years gave us affordable laptops, mobile phones and blackberries, Facebook and twitters. These 10 years digitized us to the extent that sometimes I feel that it’s not air we are breathing but transmission waves. A time when iPods and fancy phones have become a natural extension of our body. A time when we judge a person not by the colour of his skin, neither the content of his character but purely by his Facebook profile! When Mahatma Gandhi became a limited edition of an expensive pen-maker. Ironic!
In the world of hatred these 10 years showed us the ugly head of terrorism and how it has changed the common man’s life. We cannot enter a temple without being scanned, we cannot sit in a train compartment without scanning our surroundings for a left-over bag. When dates such as 9/11, 26/11, 7/11 were marked with blood of our innocent brothers. Till now it was our sins and our prejudice that came between us and our God, now it is our fear in for form of metal detectors and security personnel.
But I am hopeful.
Hopeful that one day we will come out of this blanket of fear and hatred. One day terrorists will find peace and the common man will find God. One day we will try to understand our friends as a person and not as a profile.
I am hopeful that one day I will find what I am looking for.
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1 comment:
Just saw your post... Good to know that you wrote something (after a long time).
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