I was on a short vacation to Europe, to cut off from my usual routines. I visited England, Rome-Vatican, Venice-Italy and finally Lisbon-Fatima. I was fortunate to get a glimpse of our Pope Francis, who appeared on the window, recited some prayers and then blessed the multitude of people, who inspite of hot sunshine, thronged the Basilica square. It was an awesome feeling.
Wherever I went, one thing which struck me most, at every nook and corner was the ‘Discipline’. The respect and fear of the law, little scope for breaking the rules. Be it the parking, traffic signals, queue systems everywhere, respect to elderly people and women, zebra crossings, everything is streamlined. Every possible act is captured on CCTVs with lot of monitors which record speeds of vehicles zooming along. The people of these countries must be really proud to boast of these nearly inch-perfect surroundings.
What about us? Why can’t we replicate and be like them? What we see is all chaos with no sense of discipline and no fear of the law. We drive in No Entry zones, we forget people’s right to cross at Zebra crossings, it’s the survival of the fittest, with no Q-system in place, the list is endless. At the end of it all, we know that through personal acquaintances or through bribes, we can get our things done, even if you are pulled up for an offence. We see garbage all over stinking everywhere, stinking and filthy public urinals / toilets, overflowing drains and septic tanks, with a ‘care a damn’ attitude. It was really heartening to see the well-maintained segregated dust-bins all over in all the countries I visited. The public toilets were clean and tidy.
Needless to mention, discipline in life is very important for each one of us. Without having a disciplined, life we cannot work towards our goals. Discipline does not mean the blind following of orders but rather the understanding of the necessity of obedience to accomplish our purpose.
Let’s forget what we have not achieved and look towards our future. Let the feeling of a responsible citizen sink through us. Let’s not point fingers at others and expect others to do it for you. Protect the environment. Pollution, excessive garbage, toxic and industrial waste and using up the non-replaceable resources are all problems staring at us. Let us take the bull by the horn. Unitedly we can do it. Start by doing small things like obeying traffic rules, don’t litter with garbage and then see the difference. We will be able to create wonders, hand in hand. Let’s try it… let’s do it….
Until we meet again

Felix Dias