I don’t want to make New Year's resolutions
When we don’t even know what will happen to us minutes later, how can we plan for the coming 12 months?
With the start of 2011, everyone all over the world is busy finalising their resolutions for the new year and assessing their efforts at accomplishing, or perhaps failing, to meet their goals for the previous one.
In my opinion, New Year resolutions may not be such a great idea for the people of Pakistan. The reason is clear and simple. Every morning, many of us leave for office, children leave for school, college or university, not knowing whether we will reach our destination safely or even return home safe and sound.
Even those who stay at home fear for their loved ones who stepped out. Drivers of public transport don’t know whether they’ll be able to reach the next stop or not; shopkeepers don’t know how long they will have the money they earned a little while ago, lest they get robbed; people entering mosques or imambargahs keep in mind that this might be the last time they are here. There is no end to this list.
Today, everyone in the country feels insecure and petrified. Everyone thinks twice before getting out of their house. Everyone is in a state of panic. Every second person in the country feels that he/she is being targeted.
Some fear they might become a victim of target killing or a bomb blast; some are scared of being robbed or kidnapped, while others worry about losing their jobs or businesses. Amid all these circumstances, does making a New Year resolution sound like a good idea?
I might sound pessimistic to some people. Some would even say that everyone around the world is insecure because of terrorism and people may even call me unpatriotic, but for me a resolution is when a person resolves to do, or not to do something.
When we don’t even know what will happen to us minutes later, in fact seconds later, how can we plan for the coming 12 months?
In my opinion, New Year resolutions may not be such a great idea for the people of Pakistan. The reason is clear and simple. Every morning, many of us leave for office, children leave for school, college or university, not knowing whether we will reach our destination safely or even return home safe and sound.
Even those who stay at home fear for their loved ones who stepped out. Drivers of public transport don’t know whether they’ll be able to reach the next stop or not; shopkeepers don’t know how long they will have the money they earned a little while ago, lest they get robbed; people entering mosques or imambargahs keep in mind that this might be the last time they are here. There is no end to this list.
Today, everyone in the country feels insecure and petrified. Everyone thinks twice before getting out of their house. Everyone is in a state of panic. Every second person in the country feels that he/she is being targeted.
Some fear they might become a victim of target killing or a bomb blast; some are scared of being robbed or kidnapped, while others worry about losing their jobs or businesses. Amid all these circumstances, does making a New Year resolution sound like a good idea?
I might sound pessimistic to some people. Some would even say that everyone around the world is insecure because of terrorism and people may even call me unpatriotic, but for me a resolution is when a person resolves to do, or not to do something.
When we don’t even know what will happen to us minutes later, in fact seconds later, how can we plan for the coming 12 months?