The beginning of a New Year is a time that most people like to make resolutions, usually ones they never keep. I too happen to be like many of them, making New Year resolutions only to break them or completely forget about it a few months (usually weeks) later. So to spare me the embarrassment of making a public declaration of what my new year resolutions are for 2012, I’ve decided to keep them to myself so only I would know if I have failed or succeeded in my attempts at wherever I plan to do. Just one though which I attempted last year but failed but will try again this year to do, which is stop wasting my time on people who don’t deserve my time.
That aside there is always a feeling of renewal at the beginning of a new year and we all get caught up in the whole idea that things are going to be better for us in the 365 days heads compared to the 365 days which constituted 2011. But logically if we didn’t start following the Julian calendar, we could have continued counting from the January 1, onwards as 366 and gone onto infinity. But now that all of humanity has decided on making a big deal at the end of 365 days, (366 if it’s a leap year) I am following suit while trying not to get too carried away by the highly hyped up ushering in of the New Year that gets pushed down our throats, with increasing vigor each passing year.
Instead of looking at individual goals to achieve this year, I thought it would be nice if people would think in a more collective manner and realize that how ever we like to assert our individuality and shine alone, our lives are too intertwined to enable us to live in a bubble, the simple fact that we all inhabit the same earth and in our case as Sri Lankans - this small island. The reality is no matter how big a car we drive or big the home we live or how many acres of land we may own, we all have to share the fast dwindling resources of our land.
Sadly many of us take for granted simple things like the water that runs when we open the tap. But with each passing day we are destroying all these things we take for granted - water, oil, trees, birds, animals. The down side to a fast spreading industrialization is that people in countries who for centuries lived in a manner that was not harmful to the environment are fast catching up with the over consumption patterns followed by western nations , eager to imitate, not thinking of the damage being done to our own habitat.
I think we can all do our own little bit to use more sparingly the earth’s resources and particularly of our own island nation without literally biting off more than we can chew. Looking at the fuel guzzling vehicles that have become a common sight on our roads, the palatial houses that people build, (most often when the occupants didn’t number more than four or five), the abundant use of polythene and plastic, the careless disposal of garbage, it seems that most urban dwellers in our country think little of their responsibility towards preserving the environment and the country’s natural resources.
I hope those who read this article will at least get thinking of the future generations and try to minimise the damage by lifestyles that contribute towards causing permanent damages and loss to the country’s natural resources. Being aware of this responsibility would go a long way to making us think and act in a way that both humans and nature can live in a mutually sustainable manner. I’ll end with a wish for a more enlightened year ahead for everyone. |
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