EDITORIAL – Change is from within

Holy Week, as they say, is a time for reflection. For Christians, it is a time to consider what Jesus did more than 2,000 years ago and to see what they need to do to be worthy of the supreme sacrifice he made. But even for those of other faiths, the extended holidays offer a rare opportunity to pause and meditate on one’s thoughts and actions, to see if these are in consonance with what we universally hold as true and right.
Unfortunately, modern living has come in the way of such introspection. These days, Holy Week has become nothing more than an excuse for a jaunt, a time to frolic and have fun outside the hustle and bustle of city life. It’s understandable, of course. Life for many of us has become one big work day, and any chance we have to leave it all is certainly appreciated – and promptly jumped upon. That Holy Week comes in the peak of the dry season makes it so much more tempting to go out and have some fun.
Be that as it may, it would do us all a world of good if we, during the next four days, determine to pause every once in a while to reflect on ourselves, our families, our communities, and our country. As the philosopher Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living, and this extends to us as a nation. Decades of corruption, strife, crime, and other social evils will not go away simply by instituting laws or mouthing mantras and mottos. The change must come from inside us, and what better time to do it than now, when we all pause and become that much more spiritual?