The Tyranny of Triviality

I was wondering why it is that humans are mostly interested in trivialities.

The deep things to consider in life, I believe, could be these:

• what are the goals we have in life,
• what is the impact of our actions on the larger society,
• to question whether social traditions and customs serve a purpose or are merely deadweights, and
• always try to have some perspective about whatever joys and sorrows come our way in life.

I must have missed many things in the above random list. We can add and subtract from this list.

I am somehow interesting in reading about palliative care specialists ... the challenge of caring for an ageing population is a clear and present challenge for advanced nations and an emergent challenge or a lurking one for developing nations like India. It's therefore instructive to learn about how developed nations are coping with this issue.

Recent days have seen a sustained rise in the prices of groceries in India. That would not be such a big issue in developed nations where people probably spend 5 percent of their income on food. However, it's a big issue for poor families in India where probably 50 percent of the money that comes in every month goes towards buying groceries.

I think this price rise is a "canary in the mine." If we do not take this issue with the seriousness that it deserves, we might be faced with a humanitarian crisis in the future.

I remember Robert Kennedy's words from his eulogy by Ted Kennedy:"... ultimately all of us will be judged, and as the years pass, surely, we'll judge ourselves."