One day an Alien came to Earth
Expecting to find it full of joy & mirth
But the scene that met its eyes
Was worse than the shrill screeching of mice
Everywhere it saw, men
And women were fighting
As to which one was greater
Neither giving any logical evidence for citing
Man said "I'm the greater one
For I'm physically strong"
Woman said "I'm the one who bears babies
And therefore you are wrong"
Man said "I'm more courageous
And that's a point for reckoning"
Woman said "I'm your better half
Without me you're nothing"
Man said "I can do many things
That you can never imagine to do"
Woman said "I can too
And hence, the same back at you"
At this the alien wondered aloud
"What's happening in this planet?!
This is different from what my mom said
In a childhood sonnet!"
"I was told in school too
That Earth was inhabited by humans
Never did I know that there existed
Two races - : man and woman"
Stood the earthlings thunderstruck
Shocked at the truth of the declaration
Realized that in their feud
They'd forgotten compassion
Then the earthlings understood
That there's no difference in gender
And all that is true
Is that kindness is the mentor
Hence learnt the humans to
Shower each other with compassion
No matter their gender
And that cleared the alien's confusion
The Alien then proclaimed, "Oh people!
Remember that on gender you must not brood
Understand the power of unconditional love
And that will do a world of good"
Then left the Alien aboard
his magnificent spaceship
And the earthlings swore
that they'll never waver in their promise of companionship
- A hilariously insightful poem by Subrahmanyam B.R
When my soul brother first recited this poem (quite shyly) to me, I found it to be humorous and deep.
I found it quite funny to imagine one sole alien landing on our precariously positioned planet, (perhaps with the intention to have a sweeping view of our human-induced climate change and carbon dioxide filled atmosphere to see if it would be suitable for their habitation) and ending up giving a lecture (that too in a language understood by most of us) about the importance of gender equality, kindness and compassion (that is, if aliens have or understand the concept of gender)
And I found it quite deep when I understood the true gravity of the situation, that we needed an Alien to tell us how to unite into one race of happy humans.
This is by no means a generalization - there is still hope, there is still faith and there is change slowly and steadily manifesting, for which we have enough torchbearers.
What I feel we lack, or rather, what I feel we have numbed ourselves to, is the ability to detach from our thoughts, to empathize with our fellow humans and to be sensitive to our surroundings.
We've lived with a scarcity & survival mentality, quite unconsciously, throughout many many generations, purely due to our circumstances and out of a lack of faith in abundance. Having never experienced it, we have no faith or belief in it.
I compare this with a jail inmate stuck in a windowless cell for a long time - For them, it would be quite difficult to even imagine the unseen beauty of an open space, an expansive sunrise or a relaxing sunset, let alone believe in it.
But does that mean such a space or sunrise or sunset doesn't even exist? Of course not! They are merely yet to experience it :)
And here I wish to put forth a humble request:
Please choose to believe, to have faith and to keep up hope.
Please choose to believe in the goodness of humanity even when and especially when circumstances force you to think otherwise.
Please choose to have faith in our species - the ones blessed with a sixth sense of awareness and a moral compass.
Please choose to hope and work for a future where we all stand together as equals with equity.
For it is our conscious choices that shape us - not our circumstances.
With this reflection, our blog starts its 2021 innings and I wish you an abundance filled year and lifetime ahead!
Love and Light,
Maitreyi :)