Bangladesh: a call for optimism and team Playing

came across a great article on bangladesh by a great man. its somewhat long, so i will just post the gist.

he calls us to unite and work towards building a better future by working together on things we agree; and respect each others opinion on issues on which we disagree. another important pre-requisite for better tomorrow is according to him: "generation of dedicated, creative and forward looking action team whose love for the country is beyond their personal and group interests."

finally dr abdul bari ends with a list of to dos for us to work upon. these are:

1) Each of us has to create our own personal vision of life, what we want to be and what we want to achieve, for ourselves and for our country. We need to increase our horizon. Sky is the limit!

2) We need to be steely in determination. Imam Kurtubi said long ago, ‘first class brain with second class determination loses out with first class determination and second class brain’.

3) Surely, we need basic amenities in life to live in dignity. But how does one measure it? Greed is in human nature. But it destroys individuals and nations. It appears that the current consternation in capitalistic economy is due to uncontrolled greed. The question all of us should ask ourselves is how much we need in our life before entering into our grave.

4) We must learn how to ‘think outside the box’ and be creative and imaginative. The world is for those who are entrepreneurial and have the courage to take measured risk. Someone recently wrote in an article that as long as America would be able to produce Microsoft and Google it will have its edge over others, even though its economy is faltering now.

5) While politics is a noble profession and good politics is the only route to sustainable success of any country, we must keep away from Bangladesh’s polarised politics which has become toxic with its party politics. National interests must come first. For that to happen we need to broaden our mind and lengthen our sight.

6) We have to come out of the habit of being passive or starting a good initiative only to falter within a short span of time. Stamina and consistency in anything we do are fundamental for our existence, let alone success.

7) We must practise how to work in a team so that we collectively flourish. Nation building is like team playing, there is no room for solo playing with envy dominating each other’s life.

8) We need to learn the art of introspection, self-questioning and self-responsibility. For too long we have pointed our fingers at others. We have to remember that for one finger pointing to others three fingers are pointed inward to ourselves.

let us step on that journey of rising above our self and living for others.

full article