Picking up the pieces

In my lifetime (and I haven't lived very long) I have witnessed Sri Lanka crumble to pieces, pick itself up, and crumble to pieces again, in a deadly cycle. If it isn't the war, it's the economy tumbling down on our heads. If it isn't the economy, it is corruption. If it's not corruption it's a natural disaster or a strange phenomenon such as Chikungunya. What will it take to break the cycle? As the youth of this nation it is our duty – our responsibility – to strive to keep Sri Lanka afloat. How can we do this? Here are a few practical steps we can take:

1. Be well-informed:
Ignorance is the greatest stumbling block we can encounter in our journey to success, as a nation. Before developing a passion for politics and bashing down the Government at every bend in the road, one must ensure one is well informed. Talk to a few of your parent's friends who maintain a deep understanding of the various situations Sri Lanka faces. Watch an International News Channel in your free time. Read the Newspapers. Keep up to date with the recent happenings – not just in Sri Lanka but also abroad. It is important to put things in perspective. We are not the only nation in the world. There are lessons we can learn from the experiences of other countries.

2. Avoid forming rigid opinions:
Being well-informed and groundlessly assuming you are an expert on a certain matter are two totally different things. The former is admirable, the latter is unacceptable, especially if the only outcome of your expertise is the fact that you have unchangeable opinions on everything, which leads you to laugh at high level decisions and act as though you could have done a much better job in the shoes of the Authorities. There is such a thing as constructive criticism, but without the right attitude, such criticism dwindles down to an ugly display of arrogance and foolishness. This is the last thing we want as a nation already faced with so many afflictions.

3. Laughter is not always the best medicine:
We are known for our Sri Lankan Smile, despite the terrible things we have had to face as a nation over the years. This is a wonderful thing and is to be encouraged – but to a limit. Laughter and humour are great ways to deal with pain, but if used irresponsibly, they could become causes of great pain. To laugh inappropriately, at the expense of another, is not only insensitive, it is foolish, and a drawback to the development of one's mind. It is important that we, as the youth, do not succumb easily to the temptation to dismiss everything as one big practical joke. Making fun of the authorities we are placed under is disrespectful and ultimately destructive. By making fun of what governs us, we insult the very core of our existence as a nation. Of course Governments and Authorities make bad decisions and at a very high cost, but that does not give the citizenry the license to laugh. It gives us reason to learn from such situations and to enrich our sense of national responsibility and accountability.

4. Be the change you want to see:
One of my personal heroes, Mahatma Ghandi, once stated that it is not enough to identify the flaws in society and to call for change. What it truly required of us is to BE the change. For example, if you, like me, find it unbearable that the streets of Colombo are littered so terribly with posters and paper and pieces of plastic, it is not enough to find this intolerable, it requires you to avoid – at all costs – contributing to the mess. Don't fling your chewing gum wrapper out of your car window. Choose paper, and not plastic. It doesn't take an entire campaign to bring improvement in any field. It takes a series of changed hearts. A succession of good habits. A conscious decision to adopt the correct attitude. Be the change you want to see!

5. Celebrate the differences:
It is a beautiful thing to belong to a country which is home to millions of people from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. Not a lot of nations can boast of this. But sadly we have taken what could be so beautiful and made it into the bane of our lives.

It does not have to be this way. In fact, it SHOULD not. Differences must be celebrated, not suppressed. It is sad to see how Racism has been packaged as Nationalism and has been sold to many of us, unknowingly. Instead of hating or avoiding people who are, or who think, differently than you do, sit down for a cup of tea with them. Probe into their minds. Find out why they think the way they do. You will be amazed as to how much you will learn from people who are the absolute opposite of everything you are. It will enrich your soul and prepare this nation for peace.

6. Saying you are sorry:
We all remember that first day at Montessori when we nicked a pencil from our neighbour's desk and then broke its nib. The child next to us would shriek and be up in arms until the teacher comes by and sees to the matter.
"What happened?"
"He took my pencil!"
"Say you're sorry, and give it back."
You grudgingly fling the pencil back at your neighbour. But that isn't enough. "Say you're sorry!" the teacher will insist.
Say you're sorry – and mean it. Whether it is saying sorry to our siblings after a fight, or even, more significantly, saying sorry to a person representing an afflicted race or group of people in your neighbourhood or place of work, saying you're sorry is absolutely essential. Sincere empathy and remorse on behalf of another for a wrong you may not have personally committed, can bring an unbelievable amount of peace and change in your personal life and in the collective life of this country.

As young people we often feel helpless and hopeless when faced with the plight of Sri Lanka. Everyday, it seems, I meet someone who cannot wait to flee from this nation, for "education" or "career" purposes. This is understandable, but must it be like this forever?

Let's not give up! There is untapped hope in the deepest part of ourselves, for if you have a heart, it has the capacity to change, and change is the very essence of hope. If, heart by heart, we change from the inside out, what's to stop us from celebrating real, tangible peace one day?