If I could change something, what would it be?

by 

Syeda Areeba Najeeb

(This essay was entered in the IBA Literary Society essay writing competition 'The Think Tank' held in April 2010)

Why do we follow each other all the time?

Whey don’t their views differ from mine?

Why don’t we follow rules and try standing in a line?

Why don’t we take an initiative, why all we do is just whine?

If I could change something it would definitely be the orthodox mindset and cliché pattern of thinking of the average Pakistani people. I believe if I could do this I would be able to bring a magnanimous transformation for the whole of Pakistan. We Pakistanis, in my opinion, have all the potential in ourselves to make Pakistan a heaven to live, where there would be peace and prosperity everywhere in this Pak land. But the only problem is that we lack the confidence in our ability and are unable to think out of the box to which we have been confined by the rest of the world.

Educated Parrots

Aren’t we all individuals with distinct brains that function differently? So why not use them for a change instead of following others’ lead, especially when we know that we are being taken down the wrong lane. It is high time that we start having our own views and voice our personal opinions rather than being spoon fed.

If some one dresses differently or speaks a foreign language all Pakistanis give them importance and respect (and stare as if they are from another planet). This is because it has been drilled into our minds that we are in some way inferior to the West; this hole needs to be filled with pride in our nationality, culture and language.

In Pakistan It is normal to see people breaking traffic signals, cars parked right below the ‘no parking sign’ and betel-spit marks all over walls saying “Keep your country clean”. This is what needs to be changed. We think if one person is breaking the law it is only natural that we do so too. Do we ever stop and think that instead of following, why don’t we become an exception and hence a role model for all? Do we ever feel guilty? NO!

The easy way out for us is to blame other people for it like the government, the police, the others who are breaking rules and even the signal itself.

It is also common among people to show their anger and frustration by hurting other people, destroying public property and burning cars.

Why don’t they give it a second thought and realize that it doesn’t extinguish their pain and instead fuels the fire that burns down everyone and everything. If only they would resort to peaceful demonstrations….

Pakistanis have a stereotype that USA and India are our enemies. We protest against any treaties with them and deny any aid from them, but I am sure we ourselves are the biggest market for Hollywood and Bollywood movies Are we so naïve as to not realize this? No we aren’t. We just do not want to follow logic and make sense of things because if we do we will be thrust into harsh, unbearable reality only to realize what great fools we have been while living in our home-made fool’s paradise.

So, in my opinion, if given a chance I would change the stereotypes that Pakistanis have and their thought pattern. The only way to save our beloved Pakistan from going down is to think differently, wisely and independently. Because it’s only when you come up with a good thought that you can mould the world the way you want and when you want.

Source of Image:
http://pakedu.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Respecting-individuality.jpg

Infinite Probabilities

by

Talha Ahmed

What is an accident? Unfortunate mishap or some incident with very less probability; what about the incidents with high probability? There is a high probability that I will watch TV tonight. But, is there really a high probability that I will watch TV tonight? When we calculate probabilities, we observe the event with respect to the events that can happen. But why don’t we take in calculation the events that could have happened before the present time? An answer would be “because the events have already happened!” OK. For the sake of argument, I agree. Then we only take the events which can happen in the future. What if I take a distant event like “My grandson’s grandson will sit on the sofa and watch TV while drinking Coca cola on 21st October 2145”. What is the probability? This is one event; what are the total events possible? Imagine and imagine; anything can happen. The only answer that comes is “infinity”. And one event divided by infinite possibilities comes up with the probability of “zero”.

Now, what if, my grandfather’s grandfather thought about the probability of me watching TV and drinking Coca Cola on 21st October 2010? The probability is ZERO.

[Take your time. Think about it]

Don’t just stop and decide that your probability of reading this article is zero (which it is). Start thinking about everything! The clothes you are wearing, the home you are living in, the computer on which you are reading this, the mobile which you adore so much, everything, everything, everything. Start realizing that the probability of you being “you” is absolutely zero.

So, let’s come to the ideology of everything being an “accident”. We are all a sweet accident, Earth is an accident, living beings are an accident, me and you are accidents, etc. Now, let’s apply our previous deliberation to the event “earth an accident”. If you go beyond earth, study the universe, and talk to the scientists, they will tell you that there could have been millions of possibilities for the small rock now called “Earth”.

The point of all this is as follows: There is no such thing as an accident. The history of earth bears witness that the events had absolute zero probabilities and still, they happened and were not accidents, they were MIRACLES.

I am not an accident. I am a MIRACLE; ALLAH’s miracle. The probability of me, lying on my bed, is ZERO. That is why, the mere creation of me, is a miracle, an act of Allah.

“Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which God Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they Trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth;- (Here) indeed are signs for a people that are wise.”                           

 -  (Al Quran 02:164)

Believing in Allah is the key.

For more about infinite possibilities, click here to watch a video on Youtube.

Source of Image: http://www.google.com.pk/imgres?imgurl=http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/8624827/nasa-hubble-space/nasa-hubble-space.jpg

What is and What should be?

by

Syed Hasan Abid

The act of renunciation is what leads to emancipation. If we are to be recognized as free men, we must abandon some of our desires which yield temporary satisfaction. Our lives must be purged from the notion of personal gratification; for, solely, in pursuit of personal gain one ends up being slavish, failing to contribute to the beauty of human thought. For an empiricist, observation is more or less, an impregnable building; a pedestal of further discovery and insight. As an empiricist, one shall observe life intimately; but with caution. Attempts should be made to disparage confounding variables; and even the most novel insights must be ennobled but never ignored. Logic, importantly, must be revered, which is its rightful share, if we are to obviate the difficulties surrounding our world of ideals.

'The inexhaustible mystery of existence', in Russell's words, is perhaps the greatest paradox man could ever confront. Man, as servile as ever, never found in himself anything as powerful as death or fate. Their omnipotence compelled him to worship the non-human forces. But even nature, being austere and invincible, could not prevent man to progress and reason, and to conclude that these laws simply did not suffice. Man's struggle against a universe which cared nothing for his aspirations is a story of courage and greatness.

We exist in a world, which could most accurately and precisely, be referred to as the turmoil of uncertainty. It is an onerous task to foster our own ideals against forces unaware of the futility of their actions. Indifferent to the vacillation embodied in our lives, we engage ourselves in daily strife, merely to overcome the possibility of failure. Failure, as I hold implies the inability to meet certain demands; a dispute ended in vain, but may have been won, had opportunities not been squandered. These are the notions which weave the fabric of our lives. Happiness, perhaps, is what each one of us craves for. It is the most significant strand of our existence. Aristotle believed that goodness in life is unavailing, if there is no room for happiness. It is with such an approach we should fashion ourselves and embrace the world with all its disparate laws.

But what is the inevitable conclusion of life? Betrayal. We must acknowledge that we, as a conscious entity, will at last cease to exist. All the knowledge gained, the decks stacked against others, all grudges and every faint memory shall fade away with death. Then why struggle, do the daily chores or face humiliation at the hands of those self-righteous donkeys? To be honest, we do not have many options. This mechanism is responsible for the passivity and submission of man before the omnipotence of nature. One of the most senile tricks is being used here; coerce the opponent into surrender by making sure that he runs out of options. Nature and the One who decides all the edicts, its ruler, is Whom we are ought to serve. It may be equivocal to regard that we deserve more; for, each one of us is liable to God, each one of us is a debtor.

In search of knowledge, wisdom and love we shall live and hope that some day a thousand splendid suns will resolve all the enigmas; that once men will realize that preference for dance over meditation, intellect over impulses is the cause of all sorrows. Finally, I would like to give the reader a personal insight into the meaning of life by furnishing the following lines:

'Meticulously, if one gazes into the eye of an impecunious, one would discover an array of ambience. There would be indescribable pain, fear and anxiety. One would find courage and hope too, obscured in a corner. Then perhaps we shall find all our answers, which are more important than all political debates and religious dogmas of the world.'