In the Open Air

“When I believed that my existence was such a further fact, I seemed imprisoned in myself. My life seemed like a glass tunnel, through which I was moving faster every year, and at the end of which there was darkness. When I changed my view, the walls of my glass tunnel disappeared. I now live in the open air.” One of my favourite philosophers, Derek Parfit, wrote that in his book titled Persons and Reasons. He was speaking in response to the realization that a person owes more to humanity than previously thought. While it remains relevant to life in many ways, I, often-times, find myself thinking about this quote in relation to issues outside of moral obligations to society.

Experiences have come together and provided me with a dichotomy of feelings, that is, fulfillment and a simultaneous immense sense of dissatisfaction. But I have continuously found myself thinking as Parfit said “I now live in the open air”. 

That feeling, that my mind is clearer, that I know what I’m doing, that I have a sense of direction that goes hand-in-hand with everything I want to accomplish for others, is pretty much the defining factor in deciding I feel good about something. Hence, it can be fulfilling. My life “in the open air” may often be short lived with the wind, the glass tunnel is back again. There is always something more to be done, someone else to be helped, more research to be conducted. And so I need to do more, learn more so I can help more. This, in turn, has only propelled me further towards my commitments.

My experiences and those of my community have rendered me inexcusably socially aware. That’s not to say that they are the only reason for any of my subtle activism, but that I’ve never felt as though it was a choice. I want to care about others because I believe in social justice, ensuring equality, justice, and the goodness of life to all. But I have to care because my own life, the lives of my family, my friends, and my peers, hangs in the balance. 

It’s from الله