NORMALIST – what is that?

Somebody sent me the following Poem:
A lovely poem 🔥
————————————
Sometimes in the dark of the night,
I visit my conscience
To see if it is still breathing,
For its dying a slow death
Every day.

When I pay for a meal in a fancy place.
An amount which is perhaps the monthly income
Of the guard who holds the door open.
And quickly I shrug away that thought,
It dies a little.

When I buy vegetables from the vendor,
And his son “chhotu” smilingly weighs the potatoes,
Chhotu, a small child, who should be studying at school.
I look the other way
It dies a little.

When I am decked up in a designer dress,
A dress that cost a bomb
And I see a woman at the crossing,
In tatters, trying unsuccessfully to save her dignity.
And I immediately roll up my window.
It dies a little.

When I buy expensive gifts for my children,
On return, I see half clad children,
With empty stomach and hungry eyes,
Selling toys at red light
I try to save my conscience by buying some, yet
It dies a little.

When my sick maid sends her daughter to work,
Making her bunk school
I know I should tell her to go back.
But I look at the loaded sink and dirty dishes,
And I tell myself that is just for a couple of days
It dies a little.

When I hear about a rape
or a murder of a child,
I feel sad, yet a little thankful that it’s not my child.
I can not look at myself in the mirror,
It dies a little.

When people fight over caste creed and religion.
I feel hurt and helpless
I tell myself that my country is going to the dogs,
I blame the corrupt politicians,
Absolving myself of all responsibilities
It dies a little.

When my city is choked.
Breathing is dangerous in the smog ridden metropolis,
I take my car to work daily ,
Not taking the metro,not trying car pool.
One car won’t make a difference, I think
It dies a little.

So when in the dark of the night,
I visit my conscience
And find it still breathing
I am surprised.
For, with my own hands
Daily, bit by bit, I kill it, I bury it. 😞🤔

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And this is my response:
Yes, that’s a lovely Poem!
Aren’t we all more or less the same way?
Pappy, my second son, gave me half an hour of lecture on Facetime about becoming a “Minimalist” asking me to give others what I don’t use at all, at the house which only make it more cluttered.
The reason was, I bought recently, half a dozen cups, after a long time, because I was fed up using the same old ones, I have been using for the last 25+ years or so.
So now I have a total of 18 cups, for my daily use.
He asked me. “Only two of you are at home, just like us? Why do you use 18 cups a day?”
Because in the morning my kitchen sink is clean, no dirty plates or cups!
I don’t feel like washing the cup each time I want to drink a coffee/tea. So I take a new one. By evening, I will clean up all the stuff in the sink, wash some by hand & some I put in the dishwasher.
He told me that there are people here in US, who don’t have a cup!
No food to eat…
Get rid of some of the stuff for those poor people living in cars, roads, Rest Area etc. since they can’t afford to pay the rent and so on…
I told him, I don’t think there are such poor people in US.
I don’t see them, so I don’t know they exist. Government is doing everything to provide a good life for poor people on the street too. But the beggars and homeless people, you see along the road sides are leading a life like that because of their choice. They don’t want to go to a shelter where they will be provided with meals, beds 🛌 and other facilities a person needs.
He told me, “You brought me up well. Told me to give to those who need what you have got surplus. We did that even when we were not that comfortable and couldn’t afford…“
Then I knew my son has grown up BIGGER & BETTER than me.
Young generation!
They are changing their outlook.
Minimalist is the Motto for Pappi, Aby & Priya etc. now.
Pappi introduced it to our family.
So watch “Minimalist” in Netflix, you may change your outlook too!
May be I didn’t change much after seeing it, mainly because I did accumulate all those things cluttering my home within 35+ years. I bought only what I liked waiting a long time to get it at the lowest price, when I could afford it. I still love them.
Some I don’t use everyday or once in a month, or once in 6 months or once a year, but I still have the use for it. I am happy and grateful that I have it, so that I can use it. But if I know somebody who is more desperate than me, I don’t mind parting with some of them for a good cause like to give somebody who would need it more than me and use it more often.
It is the story of my clothes 👗 👔 pants, Pots and Pans, small appliances, cutleries, etc. dinner sets and other stuff in the China Cabinet still waiting for the guests who never came to be served in that classy style you see in Movies!
That’s enough about Normalist…