Everything these days has been greatly affected by the so-called POLLUTION. We now have to work overtime to arrest the downward slide caused by Pollution. There are generally three categories of Pollution, namely the Pollution of the Environment, the Pollution of the Mind and the Pollution of Lives.
1. The Pollution of the Environment
The global warming, the thinning of the ozone level, the extinction of animal spieces, the cutting down of forest, space and weapon race, irresponsible mining of minerals, irresponsible rubbish disposal etc. are some examples of the Pollution of the Environment. All these have affected us badly now. It will be worst off in 20 years time. Diseases, epidemics, and sarcity of healthy food will reign in the headlines in the coming years. The irreponsible manner of human consumption and lifestyle have aggravated the deterioration of the environment. What then can we do to arrest this deterioration?
Developed nations must take the lead to create a conscious and responsible lifestyle among their citizens. Some form of controls and denial of excessive and affluent lifestyle must be implemented soon. This has a lot to do with the Capitalism system. It seems that the more one earns the greater the necessity to spend more and waste more. The ‘Branded’ products have come forth because of this. Certain class of people will only use certain brand of products. Those who are not yet in that class are somehow lure to believe that the branded products will make them famous or great. This myth has somehow got into many people including those from the developing nations. The more attention of the capitalism system on the consumers the more tendency of wastage will be created. People will keep on buying and obviously they cannot use everything. So in the name of charity, these unused goods or extra items will be donated to charitable organisations. Some of these donated items still have the price tags on them, which mean they were not use at all. The more the wastage will lead to the diminshing of more natural habitats and minerals. Just imagine the 6 billion people demanding from the same natural habitat and environment daily, how much longer can this world sustain these demands? There must be a ceiling to one’s lifestyle i.e. how many shoes, shirts and pants can one own, how big a car can one drive, etc. This sounds like Communism. I am advocating a responsible lifestyle. Can we learn from these two extremes - Capitalism and Communism - and merge them together. This can be called a Responsible Capitalism or a Liberal Communism. Jesus has shown us His own lifestyle which is possible without the excessive and sophistication. Can we limit our own lives to live on the barest minimum, if not with a simple lifestyle? We must guard against wastage.
2. The Pollution of the Mind
The degradation of moral and ethics in this present world is sickening. The internet and the media is full of low grade and sensual materials and advertisements. It all boils down to the dollar and cents. This sort of pornographic materials can bring in much money. This has attracted smuggling and illicit dealings. The next level is human trafficking and paedo-harming activities and so on. Finally it will lead to insane killing and murder of human lives as well as destruction of human minds. What can we do to arrest this degradation route?
Religion seems to bring in much conflict these days. Everyone wants to champion his own religion and belief. I believe there is a way out. It should be HEAVEN. People like to think that the way to heaven is the most important thing in religion. Infact it should be. Since everyone believes that he has a different way to Heaven and this has also caused lots of confusion and conflict. Let us leave out the way to Heaven for a while and look at the ultimate goal i.e. what is Heaven? If we trully wish to go to heaven then we have to know what is there. Everyone believes that Heaven is a beautiful and serene place which contains people who are good and peaceful. How can we imagine that heaven contains evil and wicked people such as murderers, killers, thieves, extortionists, rapists etc.? Can we build a Heaven on earth? Jesus has taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer - Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. So if we can promote peace and harmonious living on earth and create a Heavenly atmosphere on earth, I think we can begin to see the solution. Governments and all NGOs should jointly promote a positive, bless-you and do-good lifestyle, which is precisely what Jesus has advocated in the Gospels. He asked us to bless-others, even bless our enemies. Rewards and incentives can be given as recognition and appraisal to all who have promote peace, bless-you and do-good. More must be done. Token rewards are insufficient to advocate a change in lifestyle. Punishment or controls will not be effective to eliminate evil or wicked lifestyle. They can serve as deterents but the greater efforts should be put on pro-active and positive mental and attitudinal activities. Positive psychological and reverse psychological attempts can be employed. The golden rule - do to others you wish others do to you - must be upheld always. This is also the Heavenly Rule for all times. Let us work towards to build a Heaven atmosphere on earth.
3. The Pollution of Lives
Wasteful living and sickening attitude has destroyed many lives. The adverse money making methods and irresponsible business dealings have also devastated many lives which I will called the Pollution of Lives. The food we eat seems to have gone through proper quality control but due to loose control and unscrupulous production methods, these have reared their ugly heads again and again. The many unknown or new diseases have surfaced in the face of the world at a very rapid pace that humankind has never experienced before. People have resolved to use melamine in food production. How sad? This is something unheard of previously. I don’t dare to imagine what is next? There is little or no sense of quarantine or allowable or permissible level in food production these days. Our lives have been polluted so much so that there is no reversal trend is possible. The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the sunshine we enjoy have been hugely affected by unscrupulous people. In the so called advancement of science, many health food and supplements are produced to elevate the effects of pollution. Should this be required in the first place? Now everyone has no choice but to go for these health supplements. Are they really contributors to better health? Some have determined to go for organic food, others for vegetarian food, still others for alkalinic food. Which is the better one?
I strongly believe a moderate lifestyle with food consumption and a regular lifestyle of fasting and exercise will make the difference. Moderate consumption and home grown food are the best. The modern city lifestyle is a hectic one and couple with many eat-outs. Many of these eat-out areas come with questionable quality of food. If we cannot beat it then adopt a moderate lifestyle with moderate consumption. It is probably the better answer. Jesus in the Gospels has reminded us to fast and live a simple lifestyle but Christians have not heed very much to His advice. Let us learn to fast at least once a week and adopt a more simpler lifestyle for us and our family.
Can these start with us today? There is no time to delay any further. Let’s get started now.
(December 12th, 2008 posted in another blog)
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