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| Photo: Harish Davda |
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| Photo: Harish Davda |
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| Photo: Harish Davda |
If we can send a man to the moon,
and create miracles in science, arts,
engineering and medicine...surely,
we can prepare better for future viruses,
make sure that people do not go hungry
anywhere in the world... and everyone has
access to descent housing, water, health care and
education.
What Covid-19 is teaching us is to 'awaken'
ourselves, to reveal who we truly are, get
deep into our essence, become
selfless and reach out to those in need at
local, national and global level...because
we are all one!
Once we awaken, we will begin to change
our broken economic, business, political
and financial systems for the benefit
of all. Not just for 1% of people who control
a high percentage of world's net wealth!
(c) Harish Davda 2020 - harish.davda@gmail.com
"If you want to change the world, you start with yourself."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Some statistics (before Covid 19 hit the world)
The world’s richest 1 percent, those with more than $1 million, own 44 percent of the world’s wealth. Their data also shows that adults with less than $10,000 in wealth make up 56.6 percent of the world’s population but hold less than 2 percent of global wealth.
Of the 822 million undernourished people in the world, 113 million face acute hunger meaning they are in urgent need of food and nutrients.
Source: https://www.theworldcounts.com/
Approximately 3.1 million children die from undernutrition each year (UNICEF, 2018a). Hunger and undernutrition contribute to more than half of global child deaths, as undernutrition can make children more vulnerable to illness and exacerbate disease (UNICEF, 2018a).
“For the world’s hungry and undernourished people, climate change is an increasingly relevant threat multiplier”.
- Global Hunger Index.
Hello, I agree with your comments about changing the world into a more altruistic, less selfish place. Ghandhi's quote is very true, we can't change people, only ourselves. What small changes do you think we can make in our daily lives? If we are to become selfless how does this manifest if one is being unconsciously selfish? And how can less wealthy people make a difference when it comes to sharing resources with those more vulnerable?
ReplyDeleteDo we have to distance ourselves from the societal systems put in place by the 1% who control us? As we become more conscious of our actions and more 'awakened' this seems a natural consequence?
Stay safe and happy!
Thank you for your comments and searching questions. I intend to write more blogs and deal with the points you have raised. For now:
Delete1. We need to learn to go into our inner world, e.g through meditation and other practices and become aware, and through awareness reach our consciousness which is part of us. We concentrate too much in the outer world (mostly dictated by our ego through our mind) rather than the inner world. More on this in a separate blog. When we reveal ourselves as consciousness, we cannot be unconsciously unselfish. And we have at least some experience of our consciousness, e.g. our love for children, when we are kind unconditionally, etc.
2. We can make difference by reaching out to those people in our community who need help, e.g. baby sitting for stressed, overworked mothers, doing things (shopping, gardening, etc) for older people who are not able to do these tasks, etc.
3. When we learn to be guided by our consciousness, we will know how to deal with the 1%. More on this in a separate blog. It would be counter productive if we deal with them through our anger (ego). I can imagine many people will start buying their groceries locally and question large companies if they act irresponsibly in their practices, e.g. child labour. The social media, if used imaginatively, will help.
Thank you for your interest in my blog. Be safe, stay well!
Great article - thought provoking. Interesting statistics on hunger and poverty which somehow put the current global crisis into context. These issues have existed (with arguably less global engagement) for far longer than a transient pandemic has and will. From personal experience, i have noticed some positive outcomes from the effects of lockdown and social distancing; a generally slower pace of life; not only making do with less as most of the shops are closed and we focus on economising but in many ways thriving and finding creative ways to problem solve; lower environmental impact as people commute less and work from home; more leisure time for families; a greater focus on self development as people take up learning new skills during this downtime; improved levels of fitness - motivated my improving their general health and immunity people are using the opportunity to get outdoors and take up running and walking etc; business adapting and coming up with new ways of keeping going in the face of a rapidly changing environment - 'adapt or die'. From looking at some of the recent analysis from universities it would appear that most of the countries under lockdown will need to continue until early summer in order to get the spread under control - do you think this enough time for the 'key learning' to have embedded itself for some lasting positive change, or once the societal machinery starts running again will most people be revert to their business as usual lives again?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. I think I have covered, in my response to earlier comments (see above), some of the points. Becoming aware and showing our true self, our being, is the key to supporting one another and initiating change. As you have commented, there are some positive signs displayed by individuals, businesses and the government in an unprecedented way.
DeleteRegarding enough time for key learning, we all have a choice, including individuals, businesses, small and large, and politicians, to learn from the pandemic...either to change and reach out to one other or probably have bigger issues due to our broken systems, as mentioned in the blog, in future. I'm going to publish more blogs to cover various issues including the steps that we can take as 'agents of change'.
Thank you for your interest in my blog.
Be safe, stay well!
Enjoyed reading - Thankyou Harish. I have a question.. Do you think the 1% will be motivated to awaken or remain awake in the same way as those who find it a natural consequence of introspection during lockdown, as they (1% ers) have much to loose financially if the rest of the world doesn't fit neatly back into cultural slavery post enlightenment, or will ego prevail?
ReplyDeleteGreat question. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSooner or later we'll all have to change to put the broken system right, rather redesign it so that it is equitable. We can't carry on with the 'status quo' post pandemic. The 1% ers will have to change, better sooner than later. What we are going through is unprecedented..and the whole world is involved. The human, economic and social costs are going to be enormous. The stock markets in major countries, as I understand it, have already fallen by 20% - 30%. Even after the pandemic is over, the structure and size of many industries will have changed.
I intend to write more blogs on related subjects. I'm also in the process of producing videos which I will post on Youtube. Stay in touch.
Thank you for your interest in my blog.
Be safe, stay well!