Are we going to do things the same way in this New Year?

Jan 03, 2015 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
A Happy New Year to all of you at the Kaieteur News. Many thanks for the work you are doing to contribute to ensuring that there is more than one point of view in this country!
The thing about being out of integrity in order to maintain one’s livelihood is that we ultimately sacrifice our wellbeing (livelihood) to do so. In trying to preserve what we have we end up losing it; the important things, that is. The statement “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul” is indeed a thought-provoking statement from the Bible.
Someone once said that if we think education is expensive, try ignorance. Ignorance is displayed on our streets every day.   I see ignorance on display as I travel on the East Bank of Demerara. I see it in the way we drive, how we try to get an edge over the driver(s) in front of us, without a good reason for doing so; causing more build-up in the traffic, from our stupid actions.   It seems like our fragile pumped-up egos require us to compete with other road users. It’s as if people are no longer required to do the theoretical examination in order to obtain their driver’s licence.
As we make haste slowly, because slowly it is, in the hustle and bustle of modern living, we enslave ourselvesto our mortgages, our car payments, the elitist education of our children, renovations to our homes, etc. In the process, we forget to attend to the more important needs of the inner man.   We silence our conscience if it gets in the way of acquiring the material things that we believe are important – the next big screen TV, the ability to entertain and showcase our homes, the third or fourth car, etc.
After we have acquired these things, at the expense of our spiritual being, we realize that we have to acquire more because we have not yet achieved the contentment we thought the things would bring. So we lie a little more to ourselves and others, assisted by our bad behaviour, such as drinking a lot, eating decadent food a lot, and so forth; the result of turning a blind eye to the ugly truth about our existence;stifling the things that are not convenient to dwell on, and which are not in keeping with maintaining the false security we have acquired in the process of selling our souls, for the things that money can buy. If we tend to feel fearful without our props (alcohol, food, etc.) it is not real security.
Surely we cannot say that drinking excessively makes for a good quality of life. Surely having to stay pumped-up on prescription or over-the-counter drugs to maintain our balance is not in our best interest? Are we really acquiring the good life by sacrificing truth on the altar of materialism? Are we truly acquiring the peace we are seeking through the acquisition of more material trappings?
There is no doubt that one should aim for a comfortable life after working hard for it. Undoubtedly, this should be one of our aims, but how the things are acquired is also important, if not moreso. What good are the things when we are disturbed?   What use are the things when we become stressed out, disquieted within ourselves, etc.,not because of “old age”, but because of the selfish decisions we took in pursuit of what we thought would serve our”best” interest?
How do we set a good example for those who are coming after us? Do we think that somehow they will pull good behaviour out of the air, like a magician from his hat? Do we think they will ignore our hypocrisy and manage somehow to get on the right path, in spite of us?
Are we going to do things the same way in this New Year? Are we?
Rosemarie Terborg Davis

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News