Sunday, December 11, 2011

Hmmm...

I volunteer with an NGO and today I had to volunteer for an event in which the donors had to meet the children whose education they were sponsoring. This, no doubt, is a very noble effort by itself as it is very hard for anyone, even people with tons of money, to develop an altruistic attitude in the first place. But what disappointed me the most is that many of the donors, in fact more than 80% of them never turned up. But why is that so? Today was a Sunday, a day on which most people are relatively free from work commitments. So what exactly was holding them back?

Was it an attitude that money is the beginning and end of all means? That, if they contribute to a child's education, it is enough? They never even want to meet the child and actually understand the impact of their contributions. This mainly occurs due to the superficiality of human nature. And that, indirectly is a result of upbringing. Being a keen observer of human nature, I have noted that most of my counterparts(I am 16 years old, so you get an idea) are not at all interested in what goes on in the world. At an age where they are at the brink of adulthood, they refuse to take on the issues concerning their own welfare and the welfare of the community as a whole. Instead, they choose to remain ensconced in their own little world, conversing about each other's infatuations, talking about the latest fashion trends, discussing which movie star is hotter and so on.

At that stage, all this would seem extremely normal and most parents and educationists would brush it off as a passing phase. However, I firmly believe it is not so. A person can change over time, but the essence of a person will always remain the same. If children are not taught to continually search for the meaning of life at every stage, they will just "go with the flow" and never learn something substantial in the process. I have seen that many of my peers are not even sure about what they want to do with their lives, some go on to say that they don't mind anything as long as they have fun. But is that what life is all about? Need there not be a purpose in life? How long can one go on living like a zombie, just doing things because they have to be done?

I saw a great connection between the situation I faced today and what I see in my peers. I cannot fathom the sea of disappointed faces of the children and their parents when I said that their respective donors had not come. Those eager faces, those twinkling eyes had come so far in hope that they could meet and thank the guiding light, but all they met was with darkness. The worst thing is that I could do nothing about it. I could call up the donors and schedule another meeting perhaps, but if they were not willing what could I do? At that time, I even went to the extent of thinking that, probably they donated just for the sake of income tax exemption. (It is possible, you know) Ultimately, I can only come to the conclusion that humanity is still not open to the idea of giving from the heart. Superficiality still prevails. And there's nothing I can do about it until people are ready to listen.

This can happen only if the initiative comes from the inside. And there's the feeling of purpose too. Of course, the sense of direction and focus must be added to this broth to make it complete. If we have to evolve as a whole, the desire to go up the ladder(spiritually, not in a materialistic manner) must come from each and every individual. Only then, can I see some hope in the looming darkness around me.