Have you ever imagined a world of your own or the one where you would be making all the rules?  I often do, and it’s a simple world I wish for.  In fact, it’s a world where there is no rule, yet, everything is in order.  Given its simplicity and sincerity, people would be mutual and reciprocal without even a slight discussion or negotiation, fairly and squarely.  In the end, it’s a small and happy world for everyone.

Crimes and criminals are a havoc in societies.  Though it’s the victims whose comforts, convenience, and joy are directly and immediately muffled, in the end even the perpetrators are rendered unhappy as their hiding walls come crumbling down brick by brick with investigations revealing all their clandestine schemes.  Many others are also sucked in as relatives, friends, and authorities concerned.  What’s funny and frustrating is, a law enforcer is not appreciated for doing their jobs especially by the perpetrators, their families and relatives.  Instead, they are shunned as enemies and some begrudge them their whole lifetime.  In my simple world, there are no crimes, only errors committed ignorantly.  So, even the perpetrators would appreciate and applaud the officials and authorities involved in pointing out it’s a crime, arresting and ordering their punishment.  So would their families, relatives and friends.

In my world, a crime is wrong irrespective of who’s committed it – a father or mother, son or daughter, uncle or aunty, nephew or niece, and friends and relatives.

Accordingly, in my simple world, everyone would uphold and help others uphold the values of integrity.  Law comes only second.  When it comes to crimes, a judge or a police officer must be the most feared and respected individuals in the society.  Feared and respected to the extent that for the justice impartially and veritably ordered, the family of the perpetrators would invite such an honourable judge to a family feast where they would thank for upholding justice, for placing country and society before individuals, for preserving the order in the society.  That way, no one would need to be removed from office, and no one would need to look for connections.  It’s a place where justice would come to everyone as straight as sunrays, and to the right place as an object falling because of gravity.

It’s a simple world I’m yearning for where there are no thieves. Houses are not locked no matter how long the owners or occupants are gone.  It’s not because people have everything not needing to steal, but it’s because people are fully aware what’s not theirs must not be taken.  Let alone stealing something, if someone’s purse or phone dropped on the way, it’s still lying there intact when the rightful owner returns to claim it.

Coming to power and position, those installed in such places are feared not because they are loud, huge and scary, but because they walk the right path without fail.  They lead by example and they are the first ones to show sense of collective responsibility, not selfish gains.  If a high-ranking government official is given a free special residential dwelling with bright and starry lightings outside, they are first to point out that so much light is unnecessary. “Reduce the lights.  Save for the country.”  Similarly, someone rich must not expect the government to bear their health-referral expenses, especially if it’s outside the norm, and someone owning a house must not occupy a government’s affordable housing.  And when it comes to discharging official authority, everyone is equally their sons or daughters.  And others close to them, instead of using their name and fame to bulldoze into unfair, unethical, illegal, and awkward territories, they must be the ones pointing to what’s right and best for collective purpose.  Those nearer to light should emit light too.

In my simple world, power means to help in achieving what’s right and best collectively.  It does not mean pulling some and pushing others, making some and destroying others, or liking some and disliking others.  There, the power means the ability of doing, admiring, protecting and promoting what’s right and those who are right.

Similarly, the difference between rich and poor is only in the amount of wealth.  In thoughts and actions, everyone is filled with kindness and mutual understanding for each other.  The rich do not think of the poor as unfortunate, undeserving, and incapable. The poor do not think of the rich as overpowering, selfish, and inconsiderate people.  The rich aren’t only happy having their wealth, but they are happier sharing wherever there is the need to do. The rich are so kind to the extent that they feel guilty looking at poor people and immediately, thoughts of kindness are generated in their beings. Example, a rich landlord is not jealous and insecure of a shop-runner/restauranter in their building when they do well that they would suddenly increase the rent manifold, but cherish and rejoice that the shop/restaurant is doing well in their building.

So, welcome to my simple world where even a simpleton is wise, and others wiser.  It’s a world where I encourage everyone to go backward in order to go forward.  Not in the way people tend to go backward like becoming like animals (by shamelessly stripping cloths or other shameful acts online), but by looking back at values of human beings such as respects, harmony and help, mutual understanding, sense of responsibility, etc.  Without these basics or these values dwindling, we cannot go forward, and going forward means development and progress in every sense.  Without such values, a contractor building roads would make poor roads; a contractor making schools would construct fragile school buildings.  Without such values, we cannot even keep our own places and surroundings clean.

It’s a world where I also encourage everyone to go inside to go outside.  It’s a distracting world we live in where it’s easy to be hypnotized by what’s going on around us.  If we are hypnotized, we land up doing what the outside forces command, not what we want.  It’s become so important to be awake and not let external forces control or drive us.  For this, we have got to go inside of ourselves to the fundamental seed we carry and rely on its wisdom and strength to be of some value to outside world.  Going inside I believe is humbling, and a sure pathway to wisdom, and we need more of such people.  We’ve got to prove the maxim “we don’t see our own faults as big as a hill; we see those of others as small as fleas” fallacious.

My fear is, if we do not go back to go forward; and if we do not go inside to go out, we may become a developed country in terms of worldly and material advancement, but we may not be a happy country.  We may not be happy people!

Contributed by

Namgay Wangchuk

nwreloaded@gmail.com