Nature vs Nurture

Need for a new social contract

Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq

The cruising altitude of the latest Covid-19 fear has induced gut-wrenching horror. It has inevitably, yet conveniently, stirred a whirlwind of emotions in us all. While we all await our mysterious destiny trying to stay positive as we work from home or make arrangements otherwise to remain productive and relevant, we need to take a few moments for a conscious reflection. We need to halt our mundane routine and regimental thought processes and need to assess our regimes, our purposes and our well-being. It all calls for a comprehensive reflection that entails embracing the lessons we are fortunate to postulate these days when time is actually on our surplus commodity, and planning to do the most with it is literally in our hands, home, head and heart.

While we are at it, this inexorable break is unveiling significant realities of our lives, thereby making us unsurprisingly realize the connotation of multitudinous gifts that surround us. We will find us unravelling the forces of nature that supersede human powers, confronting us with our preparedness for the future. We will learn how the gravity of such pandemics can uproot the firmest of footings of nuclear powers and strangle the jugular vein of the human body.

What we effortlessly evaded is the fact that nature made its punctuated attempts at waking us up from the ever-so-engaging slumber, ruled by self-pleasing and appealing dreams that we kept putting off the call of our true purpose. Organically, when the global pandemic opened our eyes, we came abreast with all that that can be lost, all that we kept putting off for a later date, perhaps, all that could have been done – all that had to be done. We were shaken to the core about our plans that we prearranged on a day we hardly knew we would even survive to actually live. It was a solemn revelation to us how realistic forecasts could be affected by such high unaccounted provision risks, possibilities that shall surpass the inherent risks evaluated by experts. Evidently, nature opened our sight to the bigger picture, all that we kept taking for granted.

The imposed break by the nature has allowed Earth to breathe and make man face the irony of being the metaphorical virus to the planet. This is undeniably the time when nature rung the much needed admonishing bell to wake us all up and direct us to reflect and redress yet again, an attempt to make us act like the superior beings that God made us. Beings that were to nurture the nature not exploit it.

It about time we started acknowledging what we have, be content and move on to value and sustain it all while we build-on to make it greater. Here are a few thought on what needs to be done; 1. We need to surround ourselves with an empathetic attitude to value ourselves to begin with, moving on to our families and to society by and large 2. We need to move on and appreciate the privilege of having relationships and families that really matter 3. We need to unknit the tangled thoughts about people and be accepting of everyone’s point of view with diversity and difference 4. We need to rid ourselves of the pre-conceived notions, confirmation biases and self-satisfying concepts to build a newer, clearer vision and act with open mindedness, inclusivity and empathy 5. We need to value time and weigh its ticking with every opportunity to be of advantage to others and be conscious of our moral responsibilities for the greater good, for the world 6. We need to appreciate the meticulous fabric of humanity that weaves us together and collaborate to strengthen our bond beyond all borders – be them self-inhibiting, ecological or geographical 7. Just like we advocate connectivity, creativity, communication and collaboration in education today, we need to practically adopt the 4Cs in our lives and be the living examples of educated human beings who serve and thrive on substantial purposes.

It is about time we rose above and beyond and spread positivity besides statistically depressing news of the pandemic. Let us work for the future, identical to what we always have been executing in selfless commitment to teaching and learning. Let us join hands in solidarity with the purpose of being resourceful to all around us. Let us walk the marathon for a secure and healthier tomorrow. Let us sail the high tides of the prevalent challenge to rise stronger for our families, our society, and our world. Let us all flatten the curve of all that affects us negatively and escalate positivity, empathy, connectivity, gratitude, compassion, productivity, and above all humanity. It’s time we must ‘nurture’ the best gift of ‘nature’ called ‘life’ itself, as we need to revisit and rewrite our social contract with our families, communities, society and humanity at large to build an informed, sustained and an inclusive world for the better.

Courtesy: Daily Times