Saturday, June 8, 2019

Thoughts: The Idea of Making Things Right



My flipflop (slipper) had got broken. I had a spare pair of flipflops which lied near the door of the bathroom. But out of habit and comfort, I still wore that broken flipflop that day for some time. At that time I was on the bed. My little son came and saw the broken slipper lying near the bed. He instantly said, "We should not wear broken slippers, papa". And then he picks up the broken slipper, goes to the bathroom door, drops the broken slipper and picks up one of the slippers from there which was not broken; and brings it to me and leaves it near the old slipper. I was left amused.

What made the kid, who is such a baby, to try and make my slippers "right". He not only had an idea that "we should not wear broken slippers"; but when he saw me wearing one, he exchanged it with the unbroken one to "make things right". At such an early age, he not only has this wisdom to judge and differentiate between right and wrong but also the inclination to go the extra mile, making hands dirty, and to make things right. 

I know all of us are "righteous" till some point in our life. Then after going through the grind, in due course of time, most of us gradually lose that sense of righteousness. Often when we see wrong things, we tend to just "mind our own business" and walk away. And this tendency some times ends up making life hell for a few people. Where are the good Samaritans which civil society needs? Where are the role-model employees which all organizations need; to inculcate the right values and realize their vision statements? 

Someone said that the burden of improving this world lies on "unreasonable" folks; who decide to "make a change" instead of "minding their own business". I realize how right this statement is. Looking at the experience with the kid, I am left impressed and also hopeful. That our world will become better every passing day; until there are people who make it better every passing day. 

- Rahul Tiwary

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