The Hope of a Better World

Dawn breaks and in the sun’s radiance, a tiny sapling rouses from its sleep. The sapling is raised in the embrace of nature, nourished by the sun and the soil. Many dawns and dusks later it’s a plant that begins to develop buds. Nurtured by the plant and the environment, the buds begin to blossom. Some do not survive the scorching heat and strong winds while others persevere.

The values that we develop as we grow are like the multitude of buds on the plant. They are nurtured by our environs, comprising our parents, extended families, and schools, and shaped by our life experiences.

On flowering, buds enrich the ecosystem by attracting insects for pollination and enabling the plant to reproduce. Similarly, values enrich our lives and the lives of those around us. Values dictate the choices we make and determine the direction our lives take. They help us grow and develop the future we want.

The values that have blossomed in me and I endeavour to retain are hard work, sensitivity, integrity, resilience, and creativity.

The value of hard work was the first one to blossom into a flower, teaching me determination, dedication and how to discipline myself to reach my goals. I have never shirked from working hard and long, never seeking a shortcut to success.

The bud of sensitivity enables me to work empathetically with people with special needs as well as unprivileged backgrounds. I attempt to transform their bleak present into a bright
future through my relentless social impact projects.

The bud of integrity allows me to be self-aware and mindful, responsible, and truthful, both to myself and to others. Further, it gives me a moral compass that I retain with pride, and
never compromise, whatever the temptation may be.

The bud of resilience, newly formed by the pandemic, makes me rise and rise again,persevere, and move forward, even when all seems lost. Today, I believe I can survive any storm with my moral code intact.

Finally, the creative current is like sap flowing through me, giving form to my values and enriching everything I do. My ability to bring something new to life through mediums like art, music, writing, and dance is integral to my being.

With my value system in place, I can take on the world. I don’t buy into the values that dominate popular culture, like, winning, status, power, appearance, and conspicuous consumption. It is much easier to focus on the superficial things in our culture, which leads to the pursuit of wealth and material goods, the dominant “value” in much of our society, in the mistaken belief that this value will bring people happiness.

I believe my core values can influence my ecosystem and through them, I hope to create a society that embraces diversity and consciousness, that are, in my opinion, vital to true societal happiness.

Walter Lippmann beautifully expressed that “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.”

So, for me, diversity is the key to progress. By diversity, I don’t just mean heterogenic categorization such as race, gender, or age but I seek “deep-level diversity” that consists of the attitudes, beliefs, values, and commitment to society that different individuals and different value systems bring. This type of deep-level diversity corresponds to an inclusive, growing, prospering, and innovative society.

Second, I seek to build a conscious society. “Consciousness” enables us to face our circumstances and pursue our goals in sync with our values. It prevents us from being swept away by instincts and habits that do not serve us well and guide us wrongly to pursue goals that are not conducive to our health and happiness.

A conscious society that embraces diversity will be creative, spontaneous, and innovative, built on sensitivity, empathy, mutual respect, and love that makes us human. Integrity and loyalty would help us stand up against anything that harms our society, while resilience and hard work will help us face seemingly insurmountable odds successfully.

Values are contagious; if we practice them, others will do so too, making the world a better place, and nurturing future saplings over millions of dawns.

Let us be bold and brave to lead this greatest endeavour of our time.