By Ahmad Jawad
Writer is Chief Visionary Officer of World’s First Smart Thinking Tank ” Beyond The Horizon” and most diverse professional of Pakistan. See writer’s profile at http://beyondthehorizon.com.pk/about/
Our individual actions apparently is our choice but we do not realise how individual actions are weaving the fabric of society. We all are accountable for our individual actions. I recall one incident of my youth, I opted to take a short cut violating about 50 meters of one way road. Somebody coming from opposite side blocked me & insisted that I go back and follow the right route, I obliged and felt embarrassed. Since that day, I never took a short cut. We all need to resist and stop individual actions spoiling fabric of our society.
Here is a similar story from Germany, I received from a friend. Please read & teach your children
Germany is a highly industrialized country. In such a country, many will think its people lead a luxurious life.
When we arrived at Hamburg , my colleagues walked into the restaurant, we noticed that a lot of tables were empty. There was a table where a young couple was having their meal. There were only two dishes and two cans of beer on the table. I wondered if such simple meal could be romantic, and whether the girl will leave this stingy guy.
There were a few old ladies on another table. When a dish is served, the waiter would distribute the food for them, and they would finish every bit of the food on their plates.
As we were hungry, our local colleague ordered more food for us.When we left, there was still about one third of un-consumed food on the table.
When we were leaving the restaurant, the old ladies spoke to us in English, we understood that they were unhappy about us wasting so much food.
“We paid for our food, it is none of your business how much food we left behind,” my colleague told the old ladies. The old ladies were furious. One of them immediately took her hand phone out and made a call to someone. After a while, a man in uniform from Social Security organisation arrived. Upon knowing what the dispute was, he issued us a 50 Euro fine. We all kept quiet.
The officer told us in a stern voice, “ORDER WHAT YOU CAN CONSUME, MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS IN THE WORLD WHO ARE FACING SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES. YOU HAVE NO REASON TO WASTE RESOURCES.”
The mindset of people of this rich country put all of us to shame. WE REALLY NEED TO REFLECT ON THIS. We are from country which is not very rich in resources. To save face, we order large quantity and also waste food when we give others a treat.
(Courtesy: A friend who is now changed a lot)
THE LESSON IS:- THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT CHANGING OUR BAD HABITS. Expecting acknowledgment, that u read the message and forward to your contacts.
VERY TRUE -“MONEY IS YOURS BUT RESOURCES BELONG TO THE SOCIETY.“
