Letter in Earnest Part II

This is a letter to me from my 80-year-old future self.

Dear Taz,

It is amazing to look back at you from a different space and time. I will keep this short because I know that time is a precious commodity for you. You are straining every limb and leaving no corners unturned to squeeze the best out of those 24 hours.

As I shift my gaze from the azure skies and turquoise sea that adorn my landscape, I cannot help but wonder how amazed you would be to know that I am currently on a vacation to Kepler’s planet. It lies in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way and was discovered in your year.

You would be thrilled to know that grey hairs are no longer an issue as scientists have found a way to stop the build up of hydrogen peroxide which is the real cause behind the blocking of melanin synthesis (now you know why unwashed hair stinks!).

As you had accurately predicted, several species have died out in my time, the most devastating and unpredictable of course was the mass extinction of the corporate breed called risk-assessment managers. They were outsmarted by the scientists who discovered how to turn on the “bright side gene” and now all human beings are hopeless optimists and forever happy.

In my time, world is no longer throttled by the narrow notion of nationhood. We have a form of decentralized democracy uniting the whole world as Gandhiji had envisioned. Nonviolence as championed by Gandhi and Martin Luther King has truly entered our lives.

This I know will doubtlessly quell the unease in your heart for you have over time woken up to the inconsistencies and injustices of the world and the biases of the media. You agonize over the fact that the electronic media especially has been reduced to a propaganda machine for war and capitalism at the cost of truth. You know that its divisive agenda is aimed at keeping ordinary people in the dark and distracting them from the more immediate concerns of global warming and poverty but you wonder how many can actually afford to care amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life. You understand the real issues behind terrorism and worry about how many are being duped by the false rhetoric of ‘Islamic terrorism’ while the real reasons for terror are much more complex and deliberately hidden from the purview of the masses.

In spite of these worries, I know you still endeavor to do your part in clearing the smog of untruth and persist in the cause of Ahimsa (nonviolence).

Hold on to your catch phrase “Let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice.” (Chapter 5 Verse 2 Al Quran.)

Be the change that you want to see. Let your life be a reflection of Islam-peaceful surrender to the will of God. Let the light of love permeate your thoughts, words, and deeds. Everything else will follow.

Grab hold of every opportunity that comes your way. Stay diligent for the return of the master.

Love,

T