New Year’s ruminations

It was a century ago that Einstein proposed time was not a constant as we had been taught – in one instance, it depends on the speed at which we are travelling. So here it is, we have arrived at another year and it does seem to have passed just a bit faster than normal. Have we been travelling faster? Maybe not; but we have been squeezing more and more activities into the same 365 days and psychologically, the effect is the same.

To live the good life, adults must all go off into the world of work as the sun rises and return as its sinks into the west. In between, we run on a threadmill that never stops: we have to keep up, come hell or high water.

We’re told to compare ourselves against the Jones and the Harrylalls – we must run ever faster not to fall behind.

As parents, we now have been convinced that we have to programme every minute of our children’s lives and we, of course, are the machines in the programme to make it work.

So one parent either stays home to shuttle the children to school or to their “extracurricular” activities or they feel guilty and overcompensate on the weekends. There are the vacations we must have and, by golly, we must enjoy ourselves. Here we become the “children” since there are hosts and hostesses to ensure that every moment is filled with activity.

Descartes had said, “I think; therefore I am”. The modern maxim seems to be “I move; therefore I am”. The art of simply relaxing and enjoying being with oneself or one’s family has not only disappeared, it is now considered as positively subversive. But this is just what we want to recommend to our fellow Guyanese. Start today by taking a good look around you. That’s right. Aren’t the houses around you, including your house, better than they were a decade ago? What about your children’s schools and their schooling? And you can continue that survey into all aspects of your life in Guyana.

Contrary to what some may tell you, life has become easier. There is so much more available to us. We are certain that it can get better but we must not become so consumed with the “getting there” and not take time to enjoy what we do have right now. We are not allowing ourselves to see the forest for the trees. The forest is our life in its totality.

One of the most troubling aspects of the new dispensation is a willingness to accept that the end justifies the means when it comes to achieving the good life. But a moment’s reflection – and this is why it is so important to slow down and reflect as to what you are doing – will demonstrate the absolute falsity of this position. Take a most laudable end: to live in harmony with our fellow Guyanese in the year ahead. How can such harmony be achieved by engaging in activities that drive fear into the lives of others? Whether we like it or not, next year will be dominated by the political choices that those we have elected to parliament will make. As we have stressed since the results of the elections were declared, we will be entering uncharted waters as far as governance of our country is concerned. But the same advice proffered to our ordinary citizens holds for the politicians.

They will have to take their foot off the accelerator of “politicking” and take some time to reflect and act in a manner that redounds to the benefit of all Guyanese. They also must see the forest of a united Guyana notwithstanding the trees of individual and sectarian interests. And if we all slow down and work with each other, it will certainly be a happy New Year.