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POVERTY BREEDS CRIME:
Poverty and/or the fear of it, in one way or another, is a fundamental
cause of all evils that are experienced in modern society. What is greed,
after all? Greed is the fear of the loss of money and wealth, the basis for
survival in modern society. Thus, the rich tycoon, who fears poverty, will do
anything to keep and maintain wealth for survival. Poverty encourages
hoarding. If you are afraid of loss, or have always had a lack, whenever you
come into abundance, you will tend to hoard, even if you don‟t need to,
because of the fear of having lack again some time in the future. The rich
stay rich, because they tend to hoard. But the poor, who have little, also
tend to hoard what little they have, because it is scarce. Of course,
sometimes it is also true that people who have never had wealth, and
suddenly come into wealth, spend frivolously because they don‟t know what
to do with wealth and the experience of wealth makes them spend on
everything they can get. This is a different type of hoarding.
Poverty also fosters desperation which in turn breeds crime. The
poorest neighborhoods generally have a great deal more crime than the
richest neighborhoods. But the rich neighborhoods can be victimized by
poverty because the poor often break into rich people‟s homes to steal their
goods. The current drug war can be blamed in its entirety on poverty. The
drug cartels in South America, Asia, and the Middle East were made of poor
people finding a way to become rich, by selling drugs.
Of course, it is a known fact that drugs often find their way into the
hands of poor people. Some sell drugs to try to get money, and this also
breeds crime, because of the fierce competition of rival individuals and
gangs which leads to violence. But often too, poor people with low self
esteem use drugs to mentally escape their situation, and they become
addicted, and then they need to find money for the drugs that they crave
and they are already poor and have little money as it is. Thus that breeds
still more crime.
Of course, crime breeds more poverty. After all, businesses do not
want to set up shop in places with high crime because of the dangers to
personal safety, and because it simply hurts business. After all, would you
want to go to a store which is likely to get held up?
Poverty also contributes to poor health and early death. The poor
have little or no access to the best health care and preventive medicine. And
what health care they do have is second rate. The poor can‟t afford basic
physicals and health screenings. And most can‟t even afford private health
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insurance, so most do without. Health insurance is supposed to be a buttress
against the high cost of health care. But the insurance, though it is cheaper
than the health costs themselves, is still way too costly for most poor
people.
The poor get little or no education. Thus, they often don‟t even know
certain things that may help them improve their situation. This affects their
health care since they don‟t have knowledge of how to protect themselves or
prevent common illnesses.
Education is touted as the means to escape poverty and it often is.
Knowledge is power. But because formal education is expensive, how many
poor can actually afford to go to school? In the USA, financial aid is a joke.
Government grants pay only a small percentage of the cost of tuition, the
rest must be paid for in loans, which are costly to repay, and private funds,
which are not available to the poor, simply because the little money they
earn is used to pay for basic survival. Knowledge may be power, but unless
it is translated into credentials that one can present to a job interview,
education is useless for escaping poverty. It takes money to make money.
To get a proper education with the credentials to go with that education is
expensive.
The lack of money breeds all the negative characteristics that people
hate. It breeds hate, anger, and jealousy. If someone else is doing better
than you, how can you be happy, if you are not doing well? The poor often
hate the rich and resent them because of their wealth. Poverty breeds
racism, classism, and ethnics because the society stratifies itself to define
classes to separate the rich from the poor -- the rich by their fear of poverty,
and the poor by poverty itself. Poverty breeds selfishness because people,
both rich and poor tend to hoard which has already been mentioned. Poverty
breeds dishonesty because people will often do anything to get even a little
bit of scarce money -- people thus will lay, cheat, steal -- whatever it takes
to get as much money as they believe they need. And even when they are
rich, they still believe that they are poor and will still do the same things -to get even more money, even if it is far more than they will ever need.
Poverty creates wars. The rich often create wars to make more
money and the poor are often forced to fight them. Poverty breeds anger,
fear, and low self esteem. A person with little money feels inadequate and
inferior to other people because of that one‟s inability to provide for one‟s
own needs and for others.
Poverty even breeds boredom. After all, when the bills are partially
paid, and one is in debt, not being able to pay them in full, and there is no
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money left over, how do you amuse yourself and entertain yourself after a
long day‟s work? Whatever entertainment there is has to be cheap. A bottle
of cheap booze perhaps. Maybe some TV -- if you paid your electric bill or
cable bill or maybe a sex magazine or a video. A movie or a night on the
town is a luxury. If you are resourceful, you might be able to amuse
yourself, but very few have that level of imagination.
There is simply no up side to poverty. People often claim that a
poorer person‟s life is simpler. Simpler how? Poverty actually makes things
more complicated. A person is forced to make a choice between putting food
on the table and paying the electric bill. The person is forced to ration his or
her meager resources being unable to pay the obligations in full when they
are due. If one is bored and wants entertainment, one must pull money from
resources meant to pay obligations. That adds to complications. Poverty
forces people to go into huge debt even for the smallest things. When you
have a lack of money, everything in life is harder. Accomplishments are
fewer and farther between, because you have less money to do anything
with.
People say that adversity builds character, but the above paragraphs
show that the exact opposite is true. Whatever character adversity builds is
mostly negative. True, sometimes, hardship can make people cooperate.
Hardship can sometimes prompt people to acts of courage, heroism, and
altruism, but these noble characteristics are few and far between when
compared to the evils that poverty and a life of hardship brings.
People say that poverty breeds faith -- that hardship builds one‟s
faith in God. But the reality is that people turn to religion only because they
are desperate and have no alternative to remedy their situation. The radical
religious extremism that one sees throughout the world is the result of
poverty. Some people adopt the attitude that poverty is good for them to
console themselves when they are unable to make it and faith is used as a
justification for their continued poverty because they are unable to improve
their situation. The extremism is a violent reaction to their situation where
they attempt to remedy their situation and they use religion as a platform
for social, economic, and political change. In fact the creation of new
religions is often the result of people responding to oppressive situations
including grinding poverty.
People say that poverty makes people diligent and appreciate hard
work. Not necessarily. The fact that so many people work only for their basic
survival, and often don‟t even have enough for that, breeds apathy, laziness
and discontentment. People who work hardest are the ones who are the
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most fulfilled by what they do, because it doesn‟t seem like work to them.
They actually enjoy their work. Most people work jobs they utterly loathe
just to earn a meager wage. They hate their jobs and their pay is
unrewarding to them, so they want to do everything they can to get out of
work and doing a job that they hate. Even if the job is a high paying job, if
you hate it, you will still not work hard at it because you utterly hate it. And
poverty actually encourages the exact opposite of diligence in many people.
People work so hard for so little that they will look for an easy way to make
money. They see no point in working hard because they are left unrewarded
in their pockets, self esteem, and fulfillment. They develop the attitude that
all hard work is unpleasant and to be avoided.
People say that hardship and poverty builds strength. Sometimes.
More often, the poor are malnourished and undernourished, so they are
often physically weak. The poor are often more weak and vulnerable in other
ways too They often fall prey to scams because they are looking for easy
ways to make money because they are underpaid and have no fulfillment
and they work very hard for very little. The poor are more prone to be
victims of crime and are also more prone themselves to become criminals
just out of desperation borne from their poverty. They are more likely to be
victims of abuse because of frustration. They have no money or resources to
defend themselves against others who are stronger than they are who want
to harm them and take what meager resources they have.
Poverty also gives one a limited choice of mates and reproduction.
The ladies naturally favor, because they fear poverty, the ones who are
wealthy, or the ones who are the hardest and meanest, because if they must
live in poverty, the one can hold his own against the hard world.
Poverty builds fear and mistrust. This is the basis of what is called
“street smarts.” Once one has been bitten by a scam or an attack, a poor
person is far less trusting. Mistrust is a byproduct of a culture of poverty
where people are victimized. In certain survival situations, a certain level of
fear and mistrust is beneficial, but mostly it works against the individual.
You will fear and mistrust even the people who are actually trying to help
you. And fear and mistrust also breeds a climate of hostility because one
does not know whom one can trust.
People say that poverty can make you strong and independent by
teaching you how to be resourceful. In fact, poverty does exactly the
opposite. Having little resources fosters dependence simply because you
have no means or resources to support yourself. And most people simply
aren‟t resourceful or talented enough to make it on their own without some
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help. And even those that are resourceful and talented often depend on luck
and goodwill to make it.
In short, poverty cannot breed moral and spiritual values, unless they
are satanic values. If you know how to be lecherous, dishonest, cruel,
fearful, mistrusting, hateful, spiteful you might be able to survive and maybe
get rich. And religion itself is often a breeder of poverty convincing people
that they are worthless and sinful and that they need to be dependent solely
on God and his goodness. And all this while the leaders of the religions often
fill their coffers with the hard earned money of the poor. Religion itself is a
racket to make money, the founders themselves often starting out poor, and
finding a way to get rich using the gullibility of the poor, frightened and
disillusioned.
Since most of the world‟s people are poor. It is hard to imagine that
this world was created for the benefit of humankind. The Gnostics may have
been correct when they claimed that this world was created by an evil god
who hates humanity. According to them, this world was created and is ruled
by the evil god Satan, who is usually called Yaldabaoth, the Child of Chaos.
Maybe that is why this world is so rotten. It could not have been created by
a good god.
Well, that is of course, if you believe in a spiritual reality… If you are
an agnostic or an atheist, the world is just the way it is, neither good nor
evil and it certainly was not created for our benefit.

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ROLE OF OUR (PAKISTANI)
EDUCATION SYSTEM:
EDUCATION SYSTEM:
Our formal education system basically is an example of „static model‟.
Students are taught only that material which is written in syllabus books by
some progressive people. Students only have to go through that written
material and only have to improve their understanding of the related
concepts. But that „improved‟ understanding is considered to be the „upper
limit‟ or the „upper boundary‟ of all what students can be expected to do.
Students are not required to further improve that „improved‟ understanding
with the help of their own „thinking and analysis‟. Any further improvement
is considered possible only in a situation when the same author has written a
new edition of the same book. Only this „new edition‟ is considered to be the
sole source of any kind of „further‟ improvement in the understanding level.
In this way, what a progressive person has done, the students have to
follow it. Students are required to „crawl‟ behind that progressive person.
Students (and many teachers also) remain static up to that level to which
they have been „pulled‟ by the progressive people. By themselves, students
cannot (also not expected to and also not required to) go beyond.
Students are evaluated only for their „improved‟ understanding level
and it is still irrelevant to consider that if they are able to practically apply
that „improved‟ understanding or not. Students actually are bound to remain
unable to practically apply their better understanding level because „practical
approach‟ is missing in this kind of „static‟ understanding „improvement‟
model.
Students themselves do not analyze or evaluate what is written in the
syllabus books. They view the written text only from a single angle. Practical
situations always require analysis of situation from maximum possible
angles. Since students do not do that, they remain unable to handle the
practical situations.
Students only have to „follow‟ the progressive people so they are
bound to remain behind those progressive people. Whatever „milestone‟ they
have covered, in fact has already been left behind by those progressive
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people. The situation is the worst in the case of static minded teachers. In
fact static students are still in a better position than to the one which is held
by the static minded teachers. Students are „improving‟ their understanding.
They go to next class and „further improve‟ their understanding. But the
static minded teachers – they actually, even are not „improving‟ their
understanding. They are just teaching the same material which was already
known to them. They are just teaching the same material over and over
again and from year to year. Since they are required to teach the „same‟
material under this education system, so actually they are not in need to
generate any new ideas in the related subject. So the static minded teachers
are not even doing what is being done by the static students because
students after all, are improving their understanding level from year to year
but these teachers are at the same level of understanding for the most part
of their respective careers.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
The situation can be improved and this static education system can be
transformed into a better progressive system. Following are the necessary
points or steps that are required for this purpose.
I. Class room should not be only lecture based. There should mainly be
formal discussion activities in the class rooms. Every student should be
required to give his/ her opinion on the topic. He/ she also should be
required to identify further necessary areas of investigation in the current
topic.
ii. There should be discussion groups who can choose different topics for the
discussion.
iii. Evaluation of students should be based on their participation level and
their performance in the discussion activities.
iv. For every discussion topic, all students should be required to write down
their own analysis, opinions and conclusions in the form of thesis.
v. However, half the class time can be devoted to lectures also.
vi. Written examination system must have to be thoroughly changed. Only
those subjects or topics should be evaluated in written examination which
otherwise cannot be evaluated. Even in such conditions, written examination
must have to be analytical oriented i.e. not just descriptive or calculation
oriented.
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Progressive information handling approach actually is simple and easy as
compare to the static approach. In the static approach, one has to go
through all the contents of, lets say, syllabus books because the maximum
goal in this approach is to get satisfactory understanding of all the contents
of that knowledge which is already available in those syllabus books. To
acquire the understanding of all the contents of syllabus books, using the
static approach is a tedious task. With relatively more effort, the maximum
result is only a „satisfactory‟ understanding of the already existing
knowledge.
In the progressive approach, on the other hand, the progressive
person only has to choose the issue or topic which is the most interesting for
him. Then he has to analyze all its related aspects. He has to mentally
organize all the related information in a proper, meaningful and in a
systematic and consistent manner. For a progressive person, it is not
difficult at all to choose the issue or topic for his analytical activities.
Progressive person is the one who „thinks‟ by himself. In this way, the most
„interesting‟ subject or topic for this person would be that issue or subject
etc. about which he „thinks‟ in his spare time. Under this approach, since the
progressive person has to choose that subject or topic, for his analytical
activities, which happened to be the most interesting subject for him and
since the most interesting subject for him is that one about which he already
„thinks‟ in his spare time so in this way he would choose the subject, for his
analytical activities, about which he already „thinks‟ in his spare time. As a
result, this progressive person would acquire a definite purpose and a proper
line of action for himself. Having a definite purpose in his mind, he himself
shall search for maximum information about the subject or issue from
whatever sources of information that shall include not only the syllabus
books on the subject but shall include other non-syllabus sources of
information that would include direct observations as well. In this way, he
may have to go through all the contents of those syllabus books along with
also consulting the non-syllabus sources of information. He also has to
generate new ideas about the topic/ issue. The successful search of the
information from all the available sources of information shall result in „linear
expansion in knowledge‟ whereas the new ideas shall result in „parallel
expansion in knowledge‟. He also has to critically analyze the issue which
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shall result in „improvement‟ in knowledge because such critical analysis
shall „improve‟ the „accuracy level‟ of knowledge on the issue.
The above mentioned activities apparently may seem to be more
tedious than to that of the static approach, but the fact is opposite. Since
the person who is doing all the above mentioned things for the sake of a
„definite purpose‟ i.e. analysis of issue/ topic/ subject etc. for which he is
personally interested, so he shall take all these activities lightly. He has a
definite purpose and a proper line of action. He does not have to memorize/
understand all the boring and un-interesting topics of syllabus books though
he might has to go through even more new information materials as may be
offered by any set of syllabus, for the performance of his analytical activities.
It has been mentioned in this discussion that the progressive person,
first chooses a subject of interest and then start analyzing various aspects of
that „interesting‟ subject. It may seem that this progressive person shall
keep himself confined up to the search and positive responsiveness towards
only those information sources that are directly related to his own area of
interest. This may be true as for as the so called „professionalism‟ is
concerned but this, however is not true in the case of a progressive person.
Progressive approach is different or rather opposite to this so called
„professionalism‟. In this professionalism, efforts are made to get expertise/
specialization in only one field of study through reading/ analyzing only
those subjects that are directly related to the main field of study. Subjects
having no direct link/ relationship with the main field of study are considered
to be „irrelevant‟. Study/ analysis of „irrelevant‟ subjects are avoided because
it is considered just useless for the achievement of the main objective, which
is to get expertise or specialization in only one field of study. In this way
these „professionals‟ willingly keep themselves limited within the framework
of their area of „specialization‟.
As previously has been stated that the progressive person not only has
to get maximum possible information on the topic, he also has to generate
new ideas as well. In this way, he actually has to make „improvements‟ and
„expansions‟ in knowledge. This objective is possible to achieve if his
approach is compatible with the optimum functioning system of human
mind. For the optimum functioning, human mind can accommodate any
amount of information whether relevant or irrelevant provided that too much
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burden of un-necessary memorization of the „material objective information‟
is avoided. This fact has been explained in another section of this thesis.
Idea generation process does not require „material objective information‟ as
its input but idea generation process shall function at optimum level if more
and more information, whether relevant or irrelevant to the main subject, is
continuously integrated in the mindset. For the optimum functioning of the
idea generation process, it is only the „material objective information‟ which
is not used as input but more and more „abstract objective or subjective
information‟ however is compulsorily required irrespective of the fact that it
has any direct relation with the main subject/ issue or not. Since a
progressive person, unlike a „professional‟, also has to generate new ideas
and since the optimum functioning of the idea generation process requires
continuous additions of more and more, relevant or irrelevant information
except only un-necessary (i.e. irrelevant) „material objective information‟, so
in order to generate more new ideas, the progressive person shall not
confine himself in getting only the „relevant‟ information. He would be
requiring „irrelevant (abstract) information‟ also for the generation of more
new ideas.
Human mind‟s working principle is the „identification‟ of similarities and
associations between various sets of information and then manipulating
those „identified‟ similar or associated sets of information in a way which
ultimately results in the formation of „knowledge‟. We know that the
concepts of „similarity‟ and „association‟ do not have any rigid meanings.
Human mind is able to identify (or detect) „similarities‟ and „associations‟
even in those sets of information that belong to totally different or even
opposite fields of study. Thus we are able to detect similarities and
associations in those two sets of information, let‟s say, one of which belongs
to the study of Ethics and the other belongs to the study of Mechanics. Now
consider a person who is a „professional‟ in the field of Mechanics and being
a „professional‟, he considers the study of Ethics to be useless for him
because the study of Ethics would be „irrelevant‟ to his profession. In this
case, since this „professional‟ shall not study Ethics so he shall remain unable
to identify that „similarity‟ or „association‟ which exists between the contents
of Mechanics and Ethics. Since this „professional‟ does not identify the
similarity (or association) between different sets of information so no
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manipulation operation can be performed by his mind because mind can
perform manipulation operations only on „identified‟ similar or associated
sets of information. Since the ultimate result of the manipulation operations
by the mind on the „identified‟ similar or associated sets of information would
have to be the formation of particular „knowledge‟, so this ultimate result
shall not be taken by this professional because in this case no such
manipulation operation has been performed by the mind due to his nonidentification of existing similarity or association between the contents of
Mechanics and Ethics. In this way this „professional‟ shall remain unable to
conceive that new idea (most probably this new idea would have to be
related to his own area of study) which was possible to be conceived by him
if he did not avoid studying Ethics. As a result, this „professional‟ actually
would be acquiring expertise/ specialization only in already existing theories
of his subject and he would not actually be further identifying/ exploring
more new issues related to his own subject.
The task before the progressive person is not just to get expertise only
in the already existing theories of his subject. The task before him is to
move forward. To move forward, by himself, the progressive person has to
look forward, beyond the boundary limits of already existing theories. He
has to identify more new issues so that he may perform analysis of those
newly identified issues. Proper analysis of those new issues is possible to do
if the progressive person regularly conceives/ generates new ideas. As
previously has been stated that optimum functioning of the idea generation
process requires continuous additions of more and more, relevant or
irrelevant information except only un-necessary (i.e. irrelevant) „material
objective information‟. But only this continuous addition of more and more
information of every sort alone cannot stimulate the idea generation process
to function at optimum level. Idea generation process can be stimulated for
its optimum performance by first having outstanding issues/ problems/
questions etc. in mind and then by regular and continuous acquisition of
more and more, relevant or irrelevant information. Here, it should be noted
that most of the times, it shall be the acquisition of that „irrelevant‟
information that would help in identifying new issues/ problems/ questions
relating to the main subject of interest as has been explained in the
previously stated example where the professional in the field of Mechanics
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would possibly become able to find new issues in the subject of Mechanics
just if he did not avoid studying Ethics. So the proper sequence of all this
process identified here is that first the progressive person shall choose a
subject of interest. Then he shall engage himself in acquiring more and
more, relevant or irrelevant information. The acquisition of the „relevant‟
information shall result in „linear expansion in knowledge‟. The acquisition of
„irrelevant‟ new information, on the other hand, shall help him in the
identification of new issues/ problems/ questions etc. relating to the main
subject of interest. By keeping these outstanding issues/ problems/
questions in mind, the progressive person shall continue to engage himself
in acquiring of still more and more, relevant or irrelevant information. Now
at this time, he would be fulfilling both the essential requirements of the
optimum functioning of the idea generation process which is (I) presence of
outstanding issues/ problems/ questions etc. in mind; and (ii) regular and
continuous acquisition of more and more, relevant or irrelevant information.
The new ideas that shall be resulting due to the „optimum functioning‟ of the
idea generation process in this way would be having the basis, the important
component of which was that newly acquired „irrelevant‟ information. In this
way, the acquisition of „irrelevant‟ new information shall ultimately result in
„parallel expansion in knowledge‟.
We know that idea generation process basically is an analogical
process. It means that it is not in the best interest of a person, who really
wants expansions in his knowledge, to keep himself confined to the study of
only one subject/ issue even if his main objective is to get expertise/
specialization in only that subject because if he studies other subjects also,
he in this way, possibly can expand his knowledge about the main subject/
topic just by making analogies with even „irrelevant‟ topics. It means that
more and more general knowledge can help in making him more and more
specialist in any particular field, which usually has to be his own subject of
interest. To become more specialists in his own subject of interest by
adopting this strategy is possible when that person is acquiring more and
more general knowledge while keeping the outstanding issues/ problems/
questions of his own subject of interest in mind. If the person studies only
one topic, he expands his knowledge only in linear mode. But if he studies
more and more topics/ subjects, he is expanding his knowledge about the
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main subject of interest in both linear as well as in parallel mode. In linear
mode also because the apparently irrelevant topic may have direct
connections or relations with the main subject of interest. And in parallel
mode also because by having more diverse sets of information in mind, he
becomes able to draw more valid analogical inferences.
We can conclude, on the basis of above discussion that progressive approach
may prove to be more time consuming than to the static approach but this
progressive approach, however is not tedious. Progressive approach offers
more comprehensive results than can be offered by the static approach.
Progressive person not only forms new knowledge, he also gets better, clear
and more transparent level of understanding. That much transparent level of
understanding is not possible to get in the static approach because in the
static approach, analytical activities are missing. Only self analytical
activities can give a better understanding level.
We have seen previously that the progressive person has a definite
purpose and a proper line of action for him. The „definite purpose‟ is to move
forward, beyond the boundary limits of already existing theories and the „line
of action‟ is to make expansions and improvements in his overall knowledge
with particular emphasis on the main subject of interest, first by identifying
new outstanding issues/ problems/ questions relating to main subject of
interest and then by continuously acquiring of more and more, relevant or
irrelevant information, and finally by doing analysis of the information so
acquired, as well as of those new ideas that shall be conceived by him during
all these processes. „To move forward‟ also have another sense and this is
continuous „upward shift‟ in the „overall understanding‟ and „level of abilities‟.
Up-grades in the „overall understanding‟, under progressive approach is
relatively a routine matter because progressive approach is a continuous
learning process and the process of learning involves up-grades in the
overall understanding. Whereas the „upward shift in the level of abilities‟ has
specific meanings in this context. As we already have identified that the task
before the progressive person is to move forward. He has to move forward,
not only beyond the boundary limits of already existing theories but also
beyond the limits of his own maximum abilities. But can a person really go
beyond his own maximum abilities? The answer to this important question
would be No, if asked from us and we are to answer the question while
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keeping in view the real implications of the static education system. Under
this static education system if a student remains unable, even in some case
– due to certain un-avoidable reasons, to get passing marks in the
examinations, he would not be allowed to take admission in the next class
even in case where courses offered for study in the next class happen to be
relatively easier and more interesting for him than to that of the previous
class. In this way that student would be considered, by this static education
system, to be not able to do such a task which actually is at much below the
level of his maximum abilities. The actual problem with this static education
system is that this system cannot identify the levels of students‟ abilities and
so cannot take any effective steps for the improvements in those levels. This
system only can do whatever is more convenient to do. It is quite easy to
devise a rigid syllabus, then to teach only the syllabus subjects to all the
students, then to force all the students to get themselves familiar (only) with
the contents of those subjects and then making „assessments‟ about the
levels of students‟ abilities on the basis of such types of examinations which
are quite easy to conduct and whose purpose is only to check the
compliance of students‟ understanding with those syllabus contents. In this
way if the „level of abilities‟ in case of a student is found to be „in compliance
with‟ the syllabus requirements, then he would be considered to be able to
go to next class. Being „able‟ to go to next class would be considered to be
equivalent to the „upward shift in the level of abilities‟ of that student, under
this static education system. In this way the answer to the question that
whether a person can go beyond his own maximum abilities or not would be
positively answered by this education system itself.
In my opinion, the real answer to the question that whether a person
can go beyond his own maximum abilities or not, would be yes but not in
that sense in which this question is „positively‟ answered by the education
system. A person can really go beyond his own maximum abilities if he
actually achieves his own maximum level. To become able to go beyond his
own maximum abilities, by a person, may not make proper sense at first
instance. But to become able to achieve his own maximum level by that
person does make proper sense. A person can achieve his own maximum
level if he successfully performs that task/ activity etc. such that to perform
that task/ activity was possible only if he would have applied his maximum
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effort and ability. Once this maximum level is achieved, now onward it is no
more the „level of maximum ability‟ of that person. Now onward, the „level of
maximum ability‟ of that person would be located somewhere at a higher
level than before. That person, as a result of this „upward shift‟ in his „level
of maximum ability‟, becomes able to perform such a task/ activity which
was impossible to be performed by him previously when his relatively lower
level of „maximum ability‟ could not let him perform „higher level‟ tasks or
activities. Now when he is at a „higher level of maximum ability‟, some of
those „higher level‟ tasks/ activities are no more at „higher level‟ for him. And
obviously there shall still be infinite number and kinds of those tasks/
activities which would still be beyond the scope of this new and improved
level of abilities. Now again when this person shall „achieve‟ his new
„maximum level‟, he would become able to perform still „higher level‟ tasks/
activities and this cycle shall continue in this way. A point, here, needs to be
clarified. It has been stated that after when a person „achieves‟ his own
maximum level, that person as a result becomes able to perform those
tasks/ activities etc. which were impossible to be performed by him
previously. This point actually does not give any such meanings as for
example before when a syllabus book was not formally taught by the
teacher, it was „impossible‟ for students to understand the contents of book.
We earlier stated that „up-ward shifts in the level of abilities‟ have specific
meanings in this context. In this example, if we keep „specific‟ meanings of
„up-ward shift in the level of abilities‟ in mind, we shall not conclude that
before when particular syllabus book was not formally taught by the teacher,
it was „impossible‟ for the students to understand the contents of that book.
By keeping the „specific‟ meanings in mind, our conclusion would be that it
was within the range of normal abilities of students that if taught by a
teacher, they were able to understand the contents of that book. So if
students understand some new syllabus contents in this way they actually
do not cross their „level of maximum ability‟. The maximum level for them is
still at the same point where it was located previously.
But what is that „specific‟ meaning of „upward shift in the maximum
ability‟? First of all we should clarify that we are considering here, only the
mental abilities and we are not addressing the issue of improvements in
„physical‟ abilities of persons. By the term „mental abilities‟ we mean such
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abilities of persons as ability to understand new and strange things/
situations, ability to handle and solve new and puzzling problems/ situations,
ability to generate more complex new ideas and/ or to formulate new
theories etc. Keeping in view the issue of improvements in these types of
abilities which are related to mind‟s performance, the meaning of „upward
shift in the maximum ability‟ can be considered to be like as to become able
to understand those things/ situations, or to become able to handle and
solve those problems/ situations, or to become able to generate more
complex new ideas, and/ or to become able to formulate new theories such
that previously it was out side the scope of maximum ability of the person to
perform any of these tasks. Previously the person, in this case was not able
to perform any of the above mentioned tasks. But now if he has become
able to perform any of these tasks, then it means that actually he has
crossed his previous level of maximum ability which also means that there
has occurred „upward shift in the maximum ability‟ in case of this person.
Thus in the case of example given in the previous paragraph, lets say
that person first successfully handles a complicated issue such that to handle
that issue was possible by him only if he applied his maximum efforts and
skills. Before handling the issue, that person was in a state of doubt. He was
not fully confident that he could successfully accomplish the task. If he did
not apply his maximum effort and ability in order to accomplish the task, he
would still remain in state of doubt in the possibility of successful
accomplishment of that task by him. The state of doubt shall continue and
the person shall remain in trap of his already existing vision. But if he apply
his maximum efforts and in this way brings himself out of the trap of his
previous limited vision, that person as a result would get a new broader
vision about his next objectives. Those next objectives were outside the
scope of his previous limited vision. Previous vision was limited because its
corresponding objectives were still un-accomplished. Now when previous
objectives have been accomplished the person‟s vision has been broadened
due to the fact that he has got such new objectives for him who was simply
outside the scope of his previous level of maximum ability. Now the level of
his maximum ability would be located at some higher level. His new
maximum vision would be showing him those objectives such that to
accomplish those objects would have been considered by the person just
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close to something impossible. He again would be in need to apply his
(better) maximum ability in order to accomplish those near to impossible
objectives. He would successfully accomplish those new objectives also when
he would apply his new better maximum ability. He again would get still
broader vision for him and some new objectives shall come within the range
of new broader vision. In this way the person shall continue himself in a
„forward‟ movement.
So in order to move in forward direction in a real sense, a person
should prefer to undertake to perform only those tasks which should appear
to him close to impossible to be successfully accomplished by him. The tasks
which may seem to be „close‟ to the impossibility actually are not quite
impossible to do. Such tasks can possibly be performed provided the person
uses his maximum effort and skill in order to accomplish those tasks. If the
person continues to engage himself in the performance of just routine type
of tasks such as those which are normally assigned to students by the static
education system, he shall continue to remain at the same level of his
maximum ability. He would be having his vision static and fixed at a
particular level. He shall not undertake to accomplish the maximum possible
objectives so those objectives may remain „close to impossible‟ throughout
his career.

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OUR FUTURE OW I SEE IT:
INTRODUCTION:
Exploring current images of Pakistan's futures is the task for this
essay. Based on a literature review of Pakistani magazines, newspapers and
journals as well as conversations with Pakistani scholars and interviews with
members of the general public, we develop and evaluate five images or
scenarios of the future. This essay concludes with suggestions for designing
alternative futures for Pakistan.
Before we articulate these images of the future, let us first examine the
"futures approach" to the study of social reality. A futures view focuses
primarily on temporality. Where are we going? What are the possibilities
ahead? What strategies can we use to realize our goals? How can the
image of the future help us better understand and change today? Who are
the losers and winners in any particular articulation of time? The futures
perspective is initially similar to traditional political analysis in that it begins
with an exploration of economic, international and social events and the
choices made by actors that make these events possible. However, the
futures view also attempts to place events and choices within an historical
dimension; that is, the larger and deeper structures that make these
discrete events intelligible, such as core-periphery, urban-rural, gender,
caste, and macro patterns of social change. Also important in the futures
view is the post-structural dimension; the larger meaning system or the
epistemological ground plan of the real as embedded in language that
constitutes events and structures.
Unfortunately, most efforts to understand the future remain in the
predictive mode. It is often asked, what and when will a particular event
occur and how can we profit or increase our power from a specific
prediction? Economists and strategic analysts claim to excel at this task.
Our efforts here--sensitive to the richness of reality and the need to
decolonize the study of the future from narrow models of reality--is to
explore images or scenarios of the future. Our task is not to predict and
thereby make this essay political fodder for technocrats but to use the future
to create real possibilities for change. We thus do not intend to give a
familiar reading of Pakistan's future, as might be available in a five year
plan, rather we enter into a discussion of alternative futures, of the many
choices ahead as contoured by the structure of history and the modern
boundaries of knowledge that frame our identity.
In the images or scenarios that follow it should be remembered that
these images are meant as tools for discussion and dialog; they are intended
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to clarify the futures ahead not to reify social reality. Our goal is insight not
prediction. As an initial caveat, an important failing of this essay is that the
textual sources and conversations were entirely in English--one might get
different images with local Pakistani languages.

1. DISCIPLINED CAPITALISTIC SOCIETY:
The first image of Pakistan's future has many anchors; the most versions
recent uses S. Korea as a compelling image of the future. Both countries
were underdeveloped thirty years ago but now S. Korea has joined the ranks
of the developed, it is become an integral part of the "Pacific Shift." Through
state managed industrialization with strong private spin-offs (and the
economic activity caused by the Vietnam war) Korea has dramatically raised
its standard of living. Along with a strong Confucian ethic (respect for
hierarchy, family, hard work, and an emphasis on education) Korea was a
strong national ethic. However, given Pakistan's social structure perhaps
North Korea is a better example of Pakistan‟s possible future as both have
strong militaries. However, while North Korea has a strong totalitarian
ideology, Pakistan does not. Islam is in many ways a legal/social doctrine
and in that sense that it defies any particular authoritative interpretation
rather it is up for grabs by a variety of ideologies. While a theocratic military
state is possible so far this mixture has not occurred nor has a one-man
state managed to succeed. The best way of stating this model of the future
is the "disciplined capitalistic society." The military rules directly or
indirectly under the guise of "law and order." Not only is civil society
disciplined but so is labor. Labor exists to aid capital in its national and
transnational accumulation. The Islam that is used is one that aids in
societal discipline at the individual and social level. The head of the nation is
then the strict father who knows what is best for the children. The mother is
in this image is apolitical, remaining at home to take care of the nation's
children so they can work for the larger good of capitalist development.
However there is an important contradiction here. Among the reasons of
the rise of East Asia was women labor. Females are thus essential for export
oriented strategies that lead to capital accumulation; at the same time the
Islamic dimension of this model demands their continued "home-inaction."
They are to provide care to labor. This is the semi-proletarian existence
which in the long run cheapens the cost of labor for capital since the
informal sector helps support the formal "monies" capitalistic sector.
Females are integral to this semi-proletarian structure.
The other obvious contradiction is the role of the military. Besides the
role of women, Confucianism, the historical particular juncture in the world
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economy, East Asia developed because of low military expenditures and high
social expenditures. Is Pakistan ready to put health and education before
military expansion, that is, to redefine security? We have yet to see. In the
meantime, the hope is that through discipline and privatization Pakistan can
join the ranks of the rich.

2. ISLAMIC SOCIALISM:
This image is partially influenced by interpretations of Islam that give
weight to the syncretism personal dimension of Islam; that is, an Islam that
does not the become the facilitator of the mullah's rise--not rote discipline
but revelation. The rendering of Islam is populist as for example in the view
that the land is perceived as belonging to the tillers not the landlords. This
image is also partially influenced by the third world movement which has
attempted to follow an alternative development path not based on
multinational West run capitalism or on soviet party/military run
communism. This view was made famous by Z.A. Bhutto in Pakistan. But
let us be clear: this view is still industrial and growth oriented like the
previous model, however, it has a strong emphasis on "roti, capra, makan,"
on basic needs and distributive justice. Nehru attempted a similar model but
without the Islamic overtones as have numerous other third world leaders.
In this model, the state softens the impact of local and transitional capital on
individuals. At the macro level, import substitution and nationalization
become key strategies. However, the larger problem of the world economic
system as essentially capitalistic and politics nation-state oriented with
Pakistan near the bottom of the global division of labor remains.
The meaning of this image, however, does not come only from the
economic as central is the religious. It is Islam that unites, it is Islam that
gives direction, and it is Islam that integrates individual, family and nation.
And although Islam is pervasive, it remains open and committed to
distributive justice and individual spiritual growth--a soft Islam, if you will.
National allies in this image come from other third world countries with
collective self-reliance the long run goal--south/south cooperation on
economic, cultural and political levels.
Among other writers, Syed Abidi's writes that these two images take
turns dominating Pakistan's politics. Exaggeration of one leads to individual
and social frustration and then the rise of the other and visa versa.
However, revisionist historians, such as Ayesha Jalal, argue that both are
unsuccessful because of the nature of the Pakistani state, molded along
authoritarian lines due to the circumstances of partition.
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A third image based on individual and national identity attempts to
transcend the earlier two, using the past as its gateway into the future.

3. THE RETURN OF THE IDEAL AND THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY:
The original image of Pakistan was that of a safe heaven and haven for
Muslims: safe from both the Hindus of the east and later on from the Jews of
the west (in Israeli and American forms). It was derived--at least in its
popular myth--as the territory wherein Muslims would not be oppressed by
the Hindus of India. While Jinnah's intent may have been political power (a
share in the action when India was to be divided) for the Muslim League and
later the creation of a secular state, it quickly became a state for Muslims of
Muslims. Pakistan's self image was to a large degree defined by India.
India has been the enemy that gives unity. Even after three devastating
wars, military strategists still believe that Pakistan can defeat India. In this
view, India has many gods, is bent on destroying Pakistan (the empirical
evidence of the Bangladesh war), has nuclear weapons and is allied with
godless Russia. But would Pakistan retain any sense of its identity without
India since Pakistan knows itself through the other of India? Indeed, is
Pakistan but not-India? India has survived thousands of years with and
without Muslim domination, but Pakistan is still struggling to complete a
half-century, to imagine itself as a nation, to find a coherent self.
This image exists in many ways outside our earlier dimensions in that
internal identity is more important than external reality. The image is that
we reside in the land of the Pure, the place where there is no threat from the
outside, wherein the purity of Islam can flourish. Other variables such as
the type of political-economy, culture and geo-politics are less important.
The moral dimension of Islam is central.
Questions that arise from this view are: has Pakistan achieved this level
of purity? Some Muslim scholars argue that each Islamic nation attempts to
recover the polity of the initial Islamic state, the ideal of the original
promise of the time of the Prophet--the revolution had occurred, prophecy
had been delivered, the rightly guided caliphs ruled, and there was social
justice and economic growth in Arabia. This ideal is then the image of the
future for Pakistan; this is the time of partition when there was promise in
the air, a great deal had been achieved through sacrifice, the British and the
Hindus had been thrown back, and the Quad lived. The image of the future
then is a return to a time of hope and dreams; of victory over struggles and
of purity, before the politicians in the form of the military and the landlords
co-opted the future. In this sense this image of the future is a search for an
ideal past, a mythic past.
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But while this image may be glorious, revisionist historians point out that
the birth of Pakistan was already steeped in power politics, in feudal
domination: there was never any purity to speak of, to begin with. If this is
true then perhaps what is needed is a reimagination of Pakistan. A search
for a new vision, a new purpose that makes sense of the last forty years of
frustration and creates real visions of the future not dreams based on a past
that is but a lie. This reimagination task could occur through a democratic
process of collective future envisioning or it could come from the words or
images of great artists or others marginal to the present established power
structure. But while we await this reimagination of the future, in the
meantime the present disintegrates.

4. THE END OF SOVEREIGNTY:
This image is the most pervasive and has many variants and levels.
The first is conquest by India leading to a greater India. This is possible
through military conquest or through economic imperialism if the doors of
trade are left wide open.
The second is more sophisticated and deals not with military or economic
imperialism but with cultural domination. The main villain is the West,
especially the United States. Irrespective of US AID and other ties to
Pakistan, religion and their distant locations in the world economy make
Pakistan and the USA naturally antagonistic. Recent desires of the US to
inspect Pakistan's nuclear development exacerbate this tension. But cultural
domination comes in many forms: technology transfer from the green
revolution to the microcomputer revolution--technology is not neutral but
has many cultural codes and messages embedded in its hardware (the
actual physical technology) and software (the rules that make it sensible).
For example, certain technologies might promote individualism and the
expense of family. Others might promote mobility. Education transfer also
leads to cultural penetration, the widespread emigration to the USA for
education and then for work is the obvious example. Electronic technology
even in the ostensibly neutral form of CNN can but spread foreign views of
what is significant and what is unimportant; that Pakistan is rarely covered
is not inconsequential to cultural self-images. Travel to the West for
tourism, conferences, and medical reasons are another example. While
certainly there is a bit of cultural transfer mostly it is but one-way
communication. Sovereignty then is clearly violated; the idea that a nation
can exist given this level of cultural penetration is highly problematic. For
instance, just as there is a world division of labor there is a world division of
culture and news with some supplying modern culture others providing
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exotic or traditional culture. We provide the data for their theories of the
traditional. The responses to this form of penetration are obvious:
fundamentalism in its strongest forms--a return to the historic text, a denial
of physical and mental mobility, and a critique of all things foreign even
those which increase the freedom and life chances of individual and family.
This is the famous call by the ruling elite for a local form of "democracy" in
which basic "universal" freedoms are denied so as to save traditional local
culture. Liberals, thus, argue that the defense of cultural sovereignty of the
nation is but the denial of the sovereignty of the individual and the
reaffirmation of the power of the State. In the name of tradition, all sorts of
injustices can be committed and rationalized. Other responses to Western
penetration could be further Islamic penetration, for example, by Iran. This
could lead to a Pakistan-Iran partnership with an increased Shia influence in
Pakistan. It would increase the power of ulema in that they would have the
power to define and narrate legitimate cultural and political activities.
Conversely the end of sovereignty could become a positive image in that
Pakistan could be forced to become an international blend of many cultures
and technologies: a place where the future resides, a place where
sovereignty finds itself renewed at a higher planter or spiritual or cultural
levels not at a myopic national or local level. This is then a reaffirmation of
the idea of the ummah but extended to the entire world in the form of a
global community. Pakistan could then become a compelling image for other
places to emulate. A receiver and sender of social technology and a creator
of postmodern culture. But this direction would take a great deal of daring
and courage as there are no models to follow only vague possibilities to
explore.
As problematic as cultural sovereignty is the loss of the sovereignty of
the self. The self was previously constructed around familiar lines: heaven
was above, hell below and God all around. One knew what one was to do
with one's life: class and caste were clear. But with the world continuously
being recreated by the science and technology revolution and with the
problem of West continuously staring at the Pakistani "self," there no longer
exists any clear cut self. Am I Sindhi first? A woman first? A Pakistani first?
A wife first? A Muslim first? A feudal first? Where do my loyalties lie? Can
I integrate these often contradictory fragments of identity? And where do
these categories stand in the larger scheme of things? Moreover, the
problem of the self can but become increasingly problematic with the
feminist movement, increased exposure to the outside world through travel
and the development of an overseas Pakistani community. Instead of one
mutually agreed upon authoritative construction of self we may see many
Pakistani selves all vying for individual and national dominance.
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The next layer of sovereignty that is made problematic is internal
territorial sovereignty, that is, the provinces increasingly wanting more
autonomy and in some cases secession. The calls for an independent Sindh
are the latest case in point. The image of this future is of all the provinces
going their separate ways with Pakistan finally only being Punjab. The northwest might join with Afghanistan or the Phaktoons might form their own
country. In addition, Baluchistan might join Iran, become its own nation, or
join a loose confederation with Sindh. And in this image, Azad Kashmir
would either join Punjab or unite with the rest of Kashmir to form its own
nation. While this might lead to conquest by India most likely the same
forces that would lead to end of national integration in Pakistan would also
lead to the disintegration of India, from one India to many Indias. Also
possible after a period of disintegration is reintegration into a united states
of south Asia with Punjab as the most likely center of this loose regional
federation.

5. CONTINUATION OF THE GRAND DISILLUSIONMENT:
The last and we would argue most pervasive image of the future is that
of the present continued or "no change." This is a general malaise, a grand
disillusionment with the ideal of Pakistan, with the promises of the rulers,
with the intentions of politicians. In this view, the power structure--so
obviously unjust--appears unchangeable to individuals and groups.
Given this malaise, there are then a range of strategies available. The
first is individual spiritual development, an escape from the social and
material worlds. The second is to flee the country to brighter horizons
outside: "Dubai Chalo" or the fabled green card. The poor and middle class
go to the Middle East and the rich and the upper middle class leave for the
United States. Within the country the strategy is to find a job and then use
one's personal influence to help others find work thus allowing the family as
a whole to move up the economic ladder. Of course this is more difficult in
times of contraction. During economic expansion, movement is easier.
Another tactic is politicization in the form of joining political parties for the
purpose of social transformation. However, this strategy is often quickly
abandoned once the enormous weight of the historical structures at hand is
made obvious (the military, the landlords, and the interpretive power of the
ulema, mentioned earlier). What remains is politics as patronage.
This regression from politics as social transformation to politics as
patronage has a devastating influence on the national psyche. Individuals
are forced into corruption and dishonesty (within their definitions of these
two terms) and must live with their own moral failures in a land where
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morality is central to personal and social valuation. Violence--individual,
institutional and state--becomes routine and acceptable. Cities
disaggregate; the rich secure themselves and the rest either form separate
communities or create their own armies. What emerges is cynicism and
pessimism, a breakdown in the immune system of the political and social
body--a world ending with a whimper not a bang.
For those in the position of leadership or responsibility the contradictions
are even stronger and inasmuch as the local, national and international
structures are too difficult to transform others are blamed: the foreign
elements, the bad local elements, or the undisciplined youth, to name a few
enemies. The oppression of the present bears down on leader and follower
alike; both lose their humanity, both lose hope in any collective image of the
future. Worse, there is no savior ahead: all models have failed; leaders
have failed; religion has failed; capitalism has failed; socialism has failed;
political parties have failed.

CONCLUSION: DESIGNING THE FUTURE
The need for reimagination of purpose, of identity, of vision from this
dismal final vision is glaring. Part of provisioning is creating alternative
structures. Among the points of departure for these new structures should
be the centrality of difference. Pakistan has placed its strength on unity; a
unity that has proved elusive. Perhaps we need to create institutions and
models of change that use difference to create strength, that celebrate our
uniqueness among each other and in the world. From an embracing of
difference, a unity of self, family and a larger group identity then might be
possible. As important as difference is decentralization, the creation of local
practices to solve local problems, that is, endogenous development. Finally,
we should not forget democracy, not in the trivial sense of voting--which has
historically but strengthened statist politics--but in the more important sense
of individual empowerment and community participation in the creation of
preferred futures as contextualized by the social designs of others. In any
case, designing the future at local and community and broader levels
(through local and international social movements, for example) might be a
more promising task than waiting for a politician or some other central
authority to solve the problems ahead. Imagination does not mean,
however, a forgetting of the material world and the real interests--structural,
institutional and individual--that impede attempts to transform the present.
The future must then be a sight that one moves toward as well as a site
wherein the material and the creative meet. The future--like politics,
economics and culture--must be decolonized and reappropriated by each one
of us. Today. While the above represents an initial exploration of Pakistan's
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images of the future, dimensions within these images have yet to be
explored: the role of the environment, structural and direct violence, the role
of children, images of health, the possibilities of growth and distribution, and
the relative powers of various actors, such as nation-states, political parties
and social movements. To conclude, one might ask: what is my image of
the future for myself? For my family? For my community? For my nation?
For the planet? And what am I doing to realize my personal and social
image of the future?

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Fear and Anger in Child:
Fear and Anger are basic and “normal” human emotions. Fear is the reaction of
the female (yin) energy within people; anger is the reaction of the male (yang) energy
within people. Fear makes us cautious, anger makes us bold. We need caution to
interpret situations and we need boldness to get into action. Our emotions tell us what
we need. That is how easy it is.
But it is not really easy, considering how we use these energies and what comes
from it. We are collectively afraid of fear and anger, and collectively we use violence
and cruelty to “structure” anger and fear. We are raised and are raising our children to
“not be afraid” and “not be angry,” thus teaching them to compensate in all kinds of
manners.
Our schools are afraid that our children will not be interested in learning
(forgetting that children without school learned to speak, walk, be social, etc). Schools
use unhealthy competition, insults, threats, and punishment to compensate for that fear.
Our country is afraid that it will not have enough, so it organizes violence in the form of
army’s and warfare. People are afraid to speak their truth, so they smile in each others
face and gossip behind their backs. Our companies are afraid that they will not have
enough customers, so they lure you in with nice promises and try to get out from under
their promises or charge exorbitant finance fees. Our religions use violence because
they are afraid that people will or will not remember their spiritual nature, and threaten
with hell and damnation when rules are not followed. Our society is so afraid of sexuality
that is comes out as abuse and power plays.
When we structure anger and fear, we make it impersonal. We make it so
impersonal that being angry with a representative of any organization does not work
because they are only doing their job. We make it so impersonal that our “enemies” are
not human anymore, so we can easily kill them or hurt them.
Instead of using “fear” as a sign to reconsider what is going on, and anger,
irritation or frustration to consider what the right action could be, we snow it under and
make an “impersonal” structure so that we don’t have to think about it.
It takes courage to look into your fears. It takes dealing with fear to act
courageously.
The New Children -- the Indigos, Crystal, and Star Children -- are extremely sensitive to
these compensated fears and angers. They come here to teach us to do it differently.
What they need from their parents and teachers is training in how to deal with fear and
anger.
That is not easy, because neither parents nor teachers know exactly how to do
that. Mind the amount of tranquilizers and other psychotropic medication that is being
swallowed every day.
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SOME SUGGESTIONS:
First of all, make fear and anger personal again. Show children when you are
afraid and when you are angry (they know anyway). Take time to look into these issues
for yourself, they are also your teachers.
Use gentleness and inquiry when there is fear. What do you see, what are you afraid of,
what is the worst thing that could happen. Explain how things work, teach to count
between a lightning flash and a thunder clap. Explain how automatically flushing toilets
work. Let them explain what they see and teach them to send away dark spirits, or let
their angels do it for them. When there is fear, there is a need for pioneer and scouting
work. Are you afraid to die, to mess up your children’s life, to be left alone, to be
homeless and poor, to go crazy…
Be aware when you are angry, irritated or frustrated. Feel when and where it
starts in your body. Do not judge it. It is a surge of energy. It is a sign of action not
taken, a misinterpretation, and a call for wise action. Go run or jump, or announce that
you are angry and need to yell or cannot be nice for a (short) while. Announce when the
anger is over and you can talk about what happened, or can be nice again. If you stay in
contact with your anger, it is like a wave. It comes and goes. Ask yourself what you are
really angry or afraid about. Is there a better way to take action? When there is anger
there is often despair, a hopelessness, a not knowing what to do anymore, a hidden
fear. Do not judge it, do not push it down, and do not make a “structure” so you don’t
have to deal with it. That is when you start compensating, manipulating, and hurting
yourself and others, limiting your world.
Teach your children to recognize their anger. Let them feel the wave of anger
come up and release again. Ask them what they can do to feel better. Are you happy
with that or would you like to learn to do it differently?
Fear and anger are highly flammable. Fear and anger have a very strong
resonance field. Use caution and be aware when you pick up fear and/or anger from
your environment.

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Essay on MY Idea of Ideal Life:
INTRODUCTION:
Happiness is the goal of all people and all wish to live a happy life. But what does happy
life mean? The idea of a happy life differs from man to man. Some people think that
happiness lies in luxurious living. So, they spend a lot of money over it.
Some people think that happiness lies in amassing money. So, they keep a large
amount of money in the saving bank and never spend a pie of it even for their bare
necessities. Some people think, happiness lies in possession of gold. So, they keep a
large mass of gold in their possession. Some people think happiness lies in worldly
life. Some people think happiness lies in renunciation of worldly attachment, but my idea
of happy life is not as theirs. My idea of happy life is as follows.

MY IDEA OF HAPPY LIFE:
I think, happiness lies in living a plain life within one's own means. If you follow the
dictum 'cut you coat according to your cloth' and live within your own means, you will
not need to trouble your head to get a loan of money or to pay back loan. Besides, you
will not be a parasite or a dependant on others and your free mind will bring you
immense happiness.
Happiness lies not only in the life of plain living but also in the life of high thinking. So, a
saying goes on 'plain living and high thinking'. If you live a life of high thinking the trifling
worldly troubles will not disturb your mind. With your high mindedness and broad
heartedness you will be able to excuse your small complaints and thereby you will be
free from a lot of troubles. High-mindedness depends on plain living. If you do not be
plain in your living you will fall in constant wants and you will become a self-seeker
which will lead to low mindedness and meanness. So, in order to live a happy life, you
should follow the dictum 'Plain living and high-thinking'.
Health of body and peace of mind are necessary for living a happy life. You can get
health of body and peace of mind by following the principles of hygiene and ethics.
Idleness is the greatest enemy of happy life. So, you should cast off your idleness if any
and do some useful and productive work. Adjustment, understanding, co-operation and
tolerance are necessary for leading a happy life. So, also love, affection, sympathy and
fellow feelings are necessary on your part for making your life happy.
Now, I point out a very important thing for keeping a happy life. That is you cannot live
happily if your neighbors are unhappy and sad. You cannot enjoy your full meal if
neighbors of your lies in starved condition. Conversely, if you find that your neighbors
are happy, happiness will automatically come to your mind. So, my idea of happy life is
that one should conduct in such a way and live in such a manner that his neighbors will
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not suffer in any way on one's account. You should not hurt them either in mind or in
person or in property. Besides, you should sincerely try to alleviate their sorrow. Here
lies the true sustenance of one's happy life. So, you should try to make others happy in
order to live happy life for yourself. These are the sum total of my idea of happy life.

CONCLUSION:
My idea of happy life is not like an unattainable utopia. My idea of happy life is quite
practicable.
1. Walk for 10-30 min daily..
2. Sit quietly for at least 10 min daily in isolation..
3. Try to make laugh at least 3 people daily...
4. Listen & Resite Quran daily to nourish your soul...
5. Drink green tea & plenty of water..
6. Read more books than last year...
7. Life is too short to waste time hating someone...
8. Eat breakfast like king, lunch like a prince & dinner like beggar...
9. Don't compare your life with others. You have no idea of the highways they have
travelled during their lives...
10. Nobody is responsible for your happiness except yourself...

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