In the name of growth | Covid19 | Easy life | peace of mind
The ability to imagine is what differentiates man from his cohabitants of the world. But the funniest fact is that what modern man lacks is the time to imagine. The most abused word in the whole of modern-day economics is ‘growth’. The nations, corporations, and the people who build them mindlessly chase the conundrum of growth. By the time we realize that this kind of growth is at the expense of mindless consumption of resources, we may be too late.
In retaining this level of growth, we shall be presiding over the annihilation of the bounty of nature, meant for an eternity, in a breezy hundred years, leaving nothing for the generations to follow. Future generations will never be proud of us and may brand us as the cruelest and greedy generation that ever lived on the planet. We must analyze the consequences in the name of growth.
By nature of things, as in the case of any other animals, men are designed to lead a very lazy, comfortable life. But the greatest irony is that in the name of ‘growth’, men are forced to work against their basic design and make. Every invention that we have made, to make our lives more cozy and comfortable and even lazy, eventually has made us busier and engaged.
We are innately designed to lead a very slow-paced, laid back, comfortable life. Eat, drink, sleep, dream, imagine, and be at peace with nature…..these are what we are made for. But, these are what we don’t have time for…. all in the name of growth. And finally, what will this ‘growth’ lead us up to? It may make the greatest gift that mankind has been given – the beautiful planet where we live on, a warmer, inhospitable barren desert. Signs are already on and unmistakable.
Corona may have taught us a few lessons. That we can live even when the economies don’t grow or even contract. A small virus that cannot even be seen with human eyes, kept us all remain inside our abode, making everybody look-alike with a piece of cloth on our faces. It has reduced the pace of life, businesses, travels, mindless purchases of things that we wanted and not wanted.
Growth is not the panacea of all ills either economic or welfare. But, peace of mind is. And that can come only when we go back to our basic nature. We are not supposed to lead a fast life. Rather lead a very comfortable, easy life. It’s high time to stop our malicious activities in the name of growth. Hope we won’t be late by the time we realize this. Henry Thoreau suggested in his work Walden, ‘Simplify, simplify’, for simple things are beautiful. – for simple things are beautiful.