‘I-Specialists’ Blurring Community-Vision!

 

Dear Readers,

The one question that has been plaguing my mind for a while now, is, why does it take a calamity for us to snap into being the helpful and selfless souls that we are all capable of being? As a community, we have more than adequately proven our sense of community-service and altruistic neighbourliness towards those in need, consistently through the dark phase of the pandemic, which had so many of us paralysed on various levels.

As life resumes post-pandemic normalcy (and we couldn’t be more grateful for that!), it seems like the withdrawal of the Covid virus is inversely proportional to the return of the ‘I-me-myself’ virus! Unfortunately, only some of us continue to extend our hands and our hearts even today. Those helpful gestures – especially towards the seniors of the community, have waned, giving way to our earlier ways of being less mindful towards the plight and needs of others, who may still need our support and our presence.

Thoughts like: ‘I don’t have the time anymore’ or ‘I’m busy with my life now’ or ‘Let me focus on myself – they’ll manage just fine now that the pandemic is over’, surreptitiously nurture that erstwhile ‘What’s in it for me’ mentality. And, before long, most of us are back to being ‘I – Specialists’, even if only inadvertently. A self-explanatory term, the ‘I-Specialist’ specialises in the ‘I-me-myself’ school of thought, blurring out all consideration for anyone, apart from one’s own self… everyone else is secondary. How ironic for the term to be in complete contrast to its original phonetic counterpart – ‘Eye Specialist’, as someone who clears blurry vision!

I understand that human memory is short, but surely a life-altering and long-drawn catastrophic event like the pandemic, would have made a permanent impact on us… making us re-evaluate our priorities and helping us realise that it is indeed and only ‘the human connect and compassion’, which proves to be the clear answer to the age-old question, ‘What matters most?’

So, during this festive season of giving, could we go back to being as kind, generous and helpful again? Could we continue to think also of the welfare and wellbeing of others, not just ourselves and our families? Could we be more inclusive as a community, like we were, not too long ago? Could we thwart that selfish ‘I-Specialist’ within us and clear that selfish blur, so that our Community-Vision reads 20/20?

Like the lovely Audrey Hepburn explained, in one of her quotes, the utility of two hands, “…One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

Have a good weekend!

 

– Anahita