Humanity

 

Dated: 8th of December 2022

It was yet another day of introspection, inner chaos, transformations and adventures. But I didn’t want to step out of my house, I felt tired and upset for reasons that were unknown. “I feel that the day won’t go as expected. The schedule for today is exciting, it’s about learning, but somehow, my intuition says that everything won’t happen as ideally as I wish it would happen.” I said to myself. I reasoned my thoughts and believed that they simply stemmed from the fact that I was burnt out due to my constant thoughts about a certain event on a certain day that I eagerly looked forward to. I looked at the rising sun, at the surrounding clouds and felt ready for the day. I tied up my locks into a ponytail, picked up my favourite bracelet and stepped out. “Infinite. Yes, the possibilities are infinite. There’s so much that’ll come my way and I’ll make through it all.” I reiterated. My bracelet that was embedded with the “infinite” symbol rested elegantly on my wrist. My thoughts refused to leave my mind, the year was about to end and it had been full of challenges, achievements, disappointments and hopes. The events flahsed like sparks but kindled deeper thoughts. I hadn’t wept through all those circumstances. I had been despondent but hadn’t cried. “Do we keep our achievements and goals to ourselves until we reach the pinnacle? Is it necessary to compromise on our values just to fit in? How do some people manage to do great things even when they are all alone and the crowd stands against them? Should we keep going no matter what others say or do?” I asked myself. Lost in these thoughts, I realised that I had reached college, not when I saw the gates from afar, but when the car stopped. I stepped out of the car and reverted to my thoughts. I was early by half an hour so I waited for the class, my earbud-headset accompanied me as I felt every word and every instrument of the music I listened to. A few events occurred  according to the schedule but as I had earlier sensed, the schedule that was ideal in my view, was not followed. 

The day for me, was a turbulent one in terms of the emotions I felt. I was with a friend who wept in the remembrance of past events, I listened to her, I looked into her eyes, just to feel the way she did. “Alisha, I wouldn’t suggest that you do a lot of things, but don’t enclose these feelings deep within your heart.” I said. I later went past corridors, heard my classmates talk about various abstruse things, saw people, thought a lot about them, and as usual, felt more than other people did, and with a heavy heart, went to meet my friends. I smiled, I laughed with them but my sensitive soul could, at any moment embosom my tough outer self, cry, and ask it to take note of the feelings of the inner self. The subject of reflection for me that day was, whether humanity is an explicit, definition oriented concept or a selfless service not bound by the limits of writing, advocating and looking for external approval before performing an action. Is humanity just about helping others? Is it also about not pulling others down in our pursuits of success and dominance? Are we on the wrong side of humanity if we gratify ourselves by rebuking those better than us? Keeping these questions at bay, I entered the class to find Alisha finally smiling. I saw her, felt content, and without a word, started taking notes. 

The evening finally came, and I left for home. I walked towards the bus stop, boarded the bus and finally disconnected myself from the outer noise with the help of my headset and as usual, appreciated my favourite artist, Alan Walker, for the music he created. I could see the world, but the words of people were muted, they were instead, synchronised with a background music that resonated within me. The bus halted at another stop, it was crowded. I couldn’t hear but could see people laughing, talking, teasing their friends, some were lost in the worlds of their smartphones. I didn’t pay attention to those visuals until I saw an elderly man walking with a stick in his hand. He touched the stick left and right and then forward. I could make out that he probably couldn’t see. I just observed the reactions of those around him, people passed by, but nobody, including me, came forth to give him a hand. I justified my behaviour by saying to myself that I was inside the bus, hence I couldn’t get out and help him but I still kept looking at him. A group of teenagers came, they chatted and walked past him, one of them (whom I had assumed to be a part of the group, but he was not) came running. The youthful energy was visible in him, the young man dressed in a red hoodie kept his arm around the shoulder of the old man and held his feeble hands. He probably asked the man as to where he wanted to go and which bus he wished to board, when he got the answer, he helped him board the bus, bid him adieue and left with a smile. I was a witness to a selfless act. I had always wondered as to why such acts portrayed in films never happened in real life but that day, it did happen. The man whose name was not known to me, made an impact on me. I promised to myself that I too shall uphold the principles of humanity, beyond textbook definitions and explanations. I finally received the answers to the questions that had bothered me on that day of December. Is it about pulling others down? No, it is about learning and being inspired by those, who, in our eyes are simply successful or even more successful than us. Do we need approvals to do great things for society, for the humanity? No, instead of following the crowd, we should do what feels right to us. The man with the red hoodie unlike, those around him, utilised his enthusiasm and his radiance shone brighter than ever. Do we always need to be thick skinned in order to fit in? Maybe yes, but only to the extent of not being cowed down by the judgements of others, we need to be soft hearted when it comes to embracing the deep seated human feelings that reside within us, the feelings that guide us to observe our environments in order to contribute to the betterment of the humanity, to grow, and learn.