Take present as a present

Share This Post

Listen Now

If old is gold, then what about the present?

On a holiday, my hubby and I were relaxing on a warm beach, looking at the blue sea and truly admiring its serenity.  As I was enjoying the melodies of the sea, with my eyes closed, I was jolted by the voice of an irritated teenager.  He was sharing with his friends, “Our parents keep telling that olden days were golden days and present days are very bad to live in.  They project in such a way that the present appears inglorious in comparison to the glorious past.  I feel like telling them why they conveniently forget that grandpa was telling the same damn thing to them.”

Even after that group of teenagers went past us, these sentences kept lingering and made me to think whether we are really living in such a bad world?  The irony here is that when I was a five-year-old, even my elders used to say, “Bad times have started; good era is over, bad era has started.”

There has never been any good era or bad era; good and bad have always been there in any era.  If we turn back the pages of history, we may observe that at any given point in time, there were wars, murders, slavery, gang rapes, disasters, etc.!

Even in olden days, rich used to employ poor for meagre salary and abuse.  People had to die for want of proper health care.  Bomb blasts used to take place.  Barbaric acts did happen at that time also.  The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only caused havoc in the then prevailing generation, but also caused genetic harm, because of which subsequent generations too had to suffer.  Drugs were out of control, and stealing and other crimes used to take place.  Children laboured in factories, mines, and fields, the child mortality rate was exceedingly high and physical abuse of women was a commonly accepted practice.  Sati system, child marriage, racism, caste system, everything were prevalent in the past too.  Then, why so much of hue and cry that only the present is bad?

If we take a quick look into the past and compare with present times, there are so many factors to feel good about.  Today, we need to thank technology for all the wonders it has done.  Transportation, communication, education and travelling have made our lives much easier.  The society is much more tolerant today, the status of women is better, the status of people in the lower strata of the society has improved, and more people are educated.  There is a decline in violence and military conflicts.  In fact, the number of wars that are fought today is far less than what the numbers used to be.

The big good news is that even in this era good people still exist in large numbers.  There are philanthropists focusing on helping poor and illiterate people.  Young students also understand their moral responsibilities.  In US, students have built a dream kitchen for people with disabilities.  Across continents good-hearted people are donating funds to people of South Africa, so that they can live better.  Whenever there are natural calamities like earthquake or tsunami, help comes from all over the world.  The collective human consciousness has gone up!  Our beloved Mahatria does a program and donates millions, just in the faith that it would help to eradicate polio.  He works relentlessly to create a better world.

Friends, remember that both good and bad things did exist, do exist and will exist always.  Just relish whatever you have and stop cribbing about what has happened (be it good or bad).  The fact is the human race is evolving in a positive direction.  If old was gold, we should still be swinging from trees!  And who says moral values have dipped; if such was the case then the world would have come to a halt.  Even today there are people who respect parents, believe in doing good work and help people.  Recently when my hubby had lost his wallet, a poor person did come and return it after two days.  My niece, along with her newborn, went to a restaurant and had forgotten to take her handbag while returning.  The manager of that hotel was kind enough to call her and return it.

Probably we are also doing the same with present.  This day will become past tomorrow.  Then the people of this generation may also have the same complaint – past was good, etc.  All we need to do is break the chain and greet the present with the knowledge and experience gleaned from the past.

Every moment is gold, irrespective of the era.  It’s just one’s perception, the colour of the glasses through which he sees things.  Change is a way of life!  On the average there are more good changes than bad.  It’s time to live in the present than to get lost in the past.  Life has no rewind button or fast-forward button.  Please live in the present, make best use of it and enjoy the present (gift)!

Signup to Get Updates

Connect with us Now

[wce_code id=26]
[wce_code id=25]

More To Explore