Along with the blowing wind from the west, comes a lauded quote by G. Stanley Hall, enough to become the talk of the town. “Adolescence is a new birth, for the higher and more completely human traits are now born.” But are they? Is human an effigy of values only imbibed during life? Contemplating the answers to these endless inquiries woke me up from the slumber I was long lost in.

Looking at this world, my eyes saw our kind tied to diseases like Covid-19 and monetary gains, instead of being tied to loved ones by a thread of love and unity. The obstacle of this pandemic that we’ve overcome made a life-changing revolution in my life when my family was infected by this deadly virus. When death laid its icy hands on my grandmother, I finally woke to realize how vital health and energy are in our lives. The day of demise had burst the clouds of grief upon me; however, it opened the doors of hearts of those with the same plight. Although as an NCC cadet, I tried to serve humanity by delivering food and required to the needy during a pandemic, the period when my grandmother was hospitalized compelled me to witness the selfless service of doctors and nurses who had kept regular tabs on her, dicing their own lives. With the gift of empathy and vitality of service towards humanity, I felt that she had bid me a final adieu, teaching me these vital life values.

Only after a well-scrutinized vision to view this world, found its rightful place were the answers to my queries dropped into my plate of knowledge. From the conception of a child by its mother till the time its breathing is timed, these values are imbibed into its personality. In my culture, a piece of advice makes its way to be heard by every mother-to-be i.e. reading Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta, a Hindu manuscript, or as I call it, a book bestowing values.

Blowing winds, standing trees, flowing water, raging fire, and contented sky uphold the values that define us. ‘The upright doesn’t hold the right to bear the fruits.’ In the legend and the real world, so often do we witness an upright tree, weary and old, and an inclined tree loaded with fruits. From my perspective, this is analogous to a person with the priceless possession of ‘modesty’ as a value with all the happiness in the world and on the other hand, an arrogant person with nothing but sheer arrogance. Nature reflects plentiful values, enough to keep us on humanity’s track.

In light, we stroll, yet darkness follows. What if that darkness has followed to dawn upon us that light and dark, optimism and pessimism are soulmates who need gratitude and love? I heeded people’s cries and complaints that they’ve from their lives but in the end, it is that situation that makes them hard-willed. Hard willed whether to make history or be ancient history depends upon their gratitude towards life.

Love, gratitude, compassion, equity, integrity, truth, and dignity are a few values among the endless ones that I hold on to dearly. The history of our kind and the present scenario are reflections of one evil: war among humans. The present war between Ukraine and Russia compels me to understand the value of peace which I now keep at the highest rung of my values.

In my opinion, our actions only fate a part of our society and the rest is shaped by our values that unconsciously are the most vital things in our lives. The solution to all the answers to the unappealing circumstances revolves around our values which make us feel elated.

Analogous to the labyrinth conspired by the Kauravas in the Indian epic, Mahabharata is the labyrinth intrigued by our vices which choke our values and virtues just as the later tormented the great warrior Abhimanyu to death.

Idealism is not something I seek in my society, but a step towards humanity and its values are what I seek to break the shackles of vices that we’ve bound ourselves to. After all, society is just a reflection of us, and we are a mirror of our values.

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