HEALING THE MIND

Nov 27, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

You cannot heal the body without healing the mind was the note on which I ended my column yesterday. These words of wisdom have been echoed throughout history by psychologists and self- improvement experts, among whom is the world renowned expert Dale Carnegie.
These experts have highlighted that bad habits cannot be removed without conditioning the mind. Thus, if for example we wish to lose weight, it is not just simply reducing the intake of certain kinds of foods, but to do so through conditioning the mind to accept the benefits of what we are undertaking. Some experts even go as far as demanding that we associate pleasant things with certain foods and unpleasant things with others so that we can develop that mental approach that will yield results.
A few days ago I saw an amusing letter in the newspaper in which a person was calling on the President to stop the carnage on our roadways. Now the President has come in for a fair share of criticism for allegedly micromanaging the country and for being involved in too many things. Yet here was someone calling for the President to take action to stop the deaths on our roads.
But when the same President announced that from next year, all hire cars will have to have one colour, there were criticisms. Years ago when the government moved against tints in motor vehicles, there was a big hue and cry; some even went so far as to proclaim that they must have their tints.
What we have in this country is resistance to almost every move that involves individual sacrifice in the interest of the public good. Yet people continue to demand that the President act in the public’s interest. How can the President act in the public’s interest when we are conditioning our minds to oppose every move that involves citizens having to sacrifice some of their personal freedom?
How is the President going to stop the carnage on our roads? What is he going to do? Is he going to place traffic cops at every junction? How can we ask the President to act when the people who sit in speeding vehicles endangering their lives seem reluctant to ask the drivers to slow down?
The President can only do so much. The greater responsibility is on citizens to begin to condition their minds to accept what must be accepted. Firstly, the proposal for all hire cars to have one colour will not prevent crime involving these vehicles, but it will help to bring greater regulation to the transportation sector. This is a public good which requires individual sacrifice, yet people are counting the cost of the spray paint job and wondering who will pay to have it done.
I support the proposal for all hire cars to have one colour. I would go further and insist that the registration numbers be printed in bold letters on the bonnet, truck and two sides of every vehicle since this will aid in identifying the vehicle should it be lost or involved in any criminal action.
The colour scheme proposal will help to eliminate those private cars which are being used for hire purposes without adequate insurance for their passengers. It may not stop crimes involving stolen vehicles, but it will help to bring some order and regulation within the transportation sector. It should not be opposed and the government should not have to waive any licence fees as means to reducing the financial burden involved in the re-spraying of the cars. The vehicle owners should make this sacrifice in the interest of the greater good which the policy is aimed at.
Secondly, we have to condition our minds to slow down in the country. This is one country where production is low, yet everyone seems to be in a hurry to get where they are going. A journey that by train in New York City would take an hour, takes half this time by minibus and if the minibus drives slowly, there are complaints about the bus being a “cork ball.” People want to get where they are going fast.
People are travelling in this country far more than they ever did and far more than they need to. Even on Sundays and holidays, there is heavy traffic on many roads. Guyanese need to appreciate what this change in lifestyle is costing them. They need to slow down and spend more time at home, rather than trying to be on our roads “every single day” of the year.
But to slow down requires a change of attitude, a different mental outlook, one that is not based on a mad rush to get where we are going. It requires us to change our thinking, or as they would say to heal the mind before we heal the body.

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HEALING THE MIND

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