Territories

Human beings are only vessels. Flesh and blood. We ascertain our worth by what we own. What we achieve, what others appreciate us for. In our society, that is Pakistan, as in every inward looking society, we have a habit to hang on to things, to people, to our jobs, to our areas, we have difficulty moving from place to place, from work to work. It has a lot to do with how we are brought up. Ours is a society which thrives on the status quo. Where nothing happens. We are bred to hang on to things. This attitude reflects in our work ethic also. But more importantly, it is because we are insecure. Now who is insecure? the person who knows that he or she got things the wrong way. So they want to keep these things the wrong way too. In our society, things are crooked. The system does not facilitate progression through the right means. People in our country perceive that they will not be able to achieve things by sheer dint of hard work. They know that they will have to have"other" qualifications for the job, be it personal contacts, bribes, or any other thing. In a fair system, a person knows that if he or she does not get one good opportunity, they will get another. So there is no hanging on to things. But in an unfair system, they do not want to let go of the foothold that they have been able to get, because they are not sure whether they can manage other opportunities. So we see more politics than work in our offices, we see more feuds and conspiracies in families, and we see the inability to give up the personal good for the benefit of the greater good. This is because sacrifice is demanded of others, but not given ourselves when others demand it. Yet most of us do not realize that there is a higher power than us, which is God. We like to think that we can control outcomes, we can control others, we can destroy others. But many times, God gives the victims of our wrath better opportunities, better people, better lives, especially because they were conspired against, cheated, deceived and let down. But ultimate outcomes are not decided by us, things can and do go terribly wrong and we get trapped in the webs that we have spun for others. God is indeed the greatest conspirator of all. Territorial tendencies can only change if we start doing the right thing and being fair to others. This is especially true in public life. If people at the helm of affairs ensure FairPlay and transparency, territorial behavior will give way to acceptance of reform. By doing the right thing, we can convince others to follow and agree. If we as a society refuse to do that, individuals will continue to feel insecure and will endeavour to hang on to what they have by hook or crook. As long as the vessel holds, so does the desire to hold fast.