Paying it forward

In a society of plenty and where civic infrastructure and day to day survival is not a challenge, we often see a culture of doing good deeds and regularly paying those good deeds forward. The reverse is generally the norm where basics are missing. Its a survival of the fittest and everyone is just trying to get through a day unscathed.

Having had an opportunity to live in both environments, I have a very strong preference to continuously pay it forward. A phrase that my Dad regularly shares (in Hindi) ''do good and forget about it by throwing it into the well and then move on'' has stuck with me and I find myself gravitating to people with a similar life philosophy. At a deeper level, this trait can be counted as a value of an individual and perhaps one of many which make him / her want to wake up every morning.

An India, where we could all function by paying it forward, sounds dystopian at this time. Many struggle with an opportunity to earn a basic living, so to expect anyone to think of others while also trying to put food on their own table is similar to trying to put an oxygen mask on someone else while gasping for air.

Yet every developed economy in the world functions exactly like this and one can argue that it is this principle that helps the economy to move forward.

We have a deep rooted culture of helping and donating. Though we seem to suppress it in our day to day working life and enough times, make it all about, I, me and myself.

As an eternal optimist, I am confident that one day this will happen. An India, where everyone eventually pays it forward, and is happier for it.