This is it

This article does not and will not discuss anything political because politics, just like our politicians, is useless in Pakistan. So, stop reading if you’re looking for something political. However, if you are looking for something abstract and quite back and forth, keep reading.

I know it may sound cliché and many people would have already told you this a million times so I am just going to put it out there again. Don’t take for granted what you have right now. What you have right now is surely someone’s wish. Where you are right now, what you are doing, where you are headed in life, might be a dream for millions, you just don’t know that. Develop and maintain your relationships with the people you love, don’t take them from granted.

You’re here for a very short time. While you’re here, make the most of it because maybe after five years, things just might change. Many will move away, many will die, many might lose contact. What you have in the moment is all there is. Compliment your friend, take your parents out for dinner, tell someone you love them, make the most of what you have. Because maybe soon, you might not get that opportunity.

Yes, I know, it all sounds overwhelmingly stupid and unwarranted. But life changes very quickly, in an instant, nothing might be the same any more. If you have good friends, embrace them and keep them close to you. If you have a family who loves you, tell them you love them back, go haywire. Buy them flowers, chocolates, do the little things that show them that you love them. Because what is right now, is all there is. You might not get this chance tomorrow. And you know what’s worse than failure? Eternal regret. Leaving a stone unturned. Knowing you had the opportunity to make someone feel good and feel loved and despite having the power, energy and resources to do so, you did not.

I say this again, it might sound unwarranted at this stage knowing how the country is going south (has it ever NOT gone south?) and there’s more pressing matters to be spoken about but I believe nothing’s more important than human relationships. Everything you will leave behind when you die. All that money that you’re tirelessly working for, it will all stay here, what you will take with you is the love you gave to those who mattered to you.

Humans are funny creatures, they hate with great zeal but they also love with great fervour. The point here is, to be thankful for what you have right now. People are dying due to natural disasters, sickness, hunger, and what have you. If today you have food to eat, clothes to wear and a roof on your head, consider yourself very fortunate. What can you do to give it all back? Offer gratitude, be thankful for what you have. If you believe in a God, thank God for it, if you don’t believe in one, just offer gratitude for what you have. Times are definitely tough and they just might get tougher owing to our useless, inept politicians. They have no conscience or moral scale.

Worldly affairs will continue, the sun will shine every day, your electricity bill might piss you off every month. But amidst this chaos and commotion, try not to lose your cool. I don’t know if we will see brighter times ahead in Pakistan but what I am sure of is that we only get one life and there’s not much to be happy or joyous about. But the least we can do right now is be grateful and appreciative of the people in our lives. They may seem annoying at times but tough to believe that our friends and our family keep us sane. Tell your friends you’re grateful for them, your mother that you love her, your brother that he’s a wonderful nuisance in your life and your father that he’s the king.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2022.

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