Where is the love?

If you look at many legends and myths that speak of the End of Mankind - many of them state that near the end we lose many things that are what make us human.

It is a bit scary when you contrast these things to our world today...

What are things that make us human? These 'things' are traits, values, actions and characteristics which require a sense of "humanity" to exist. Love, generosity, forgiveness, mercy, faith, charity, justice, patience, honour, etc... These are amongst the things that we need to be human, as they are what give us our humanity.

It saddens me when I look at the world (and to be honest at myself and those around me) where I see these traits losing their relevance. There was a time not too long ago when honour and modesty were amongst the most important traits one could exhibit. They were coveted and given a place of importance in society as those who were seen as being honourable were also those who were the wise, venerable members of society. Nowadays, the wise, venerable members of society are oftentimes relegated to nursing homes or long-term care facilities even when they really don't need to be.

Love is another interesting feature of humanity. When I think of love, I think of the love that existed hundreds if not thousands of years ago. I think of Romeo and Juliet, of Laila and Majnun, of Heer and Ranjha, of Radha and Krishna. I sadly don't see a similar comparison today. It feels as though the more technologically capable we become as a society, the less important emotions such as love become. I worry that the reason why I don't see the classic love story in today's society is not because these stories were fictitious to begin with, but because that calibre of love is simply not possible today... that is a scary and sad thought. If the greatest emotion we can exhibit is love (and I truly believe that statement to be correct), and gradually the love we have for each other is changing into a less cohesive emotion, then the logic indicates that human emotions in general are likely being sublimated by the human intellect. I see a society with more gadgets but less happiness. I see a civilization that has infinite potential and vast amounts of information but less knowledge and wisdom. I see a world filled with lust and greed but losing it's love... or maybe substituting that love for something that is more... convenient.

But, even after looking at the importance of love, the one characteristic that I feel we cannot lose at any cost is patience.

Surprising isn't it? I would have expected myself to say faith, especially considering how essential faith is to my life. The relevance of patience is seen in the story of Pandora's box - an ancient Greek myth where a "perfect woman" is created and given a final gift - a box - she is told to never open it, but her curiosity overcomes her and she opens the box only to let out all the ills that inflict mankind - disease, famine, greed, etc... However Pandora manages to shut the box before the final demon can escape - the demon of despondency, of hopelessness.

Patience is essential to our humanity, for patience is hope. When we are patient, we live expecting better things in the future. We are able to overcome the trials and tribulations of today believing in tomorrow bringing us something better. Now, I am not saying that all of our troubles will be solved by simply being patient, but I do believe that patience plays a key role in our ability to hope - and this hope leads us onwards. There are so many difficulties that face us in our lives, death, heartbreak, disability, pain, etc... yet all of these things can be remedied by one thing alone - time. How to get this time? ... By being patient, by having hope.

I want to hope, I want to believe in our humanity. I want mankind to overcome the trials and tribulations facing us as a species and as individuals. I pray that this hope, magnified many times over by all of you will help us find our tomorrow.