One of the quotes I like from Mahatma Gandhi is, "I give you a Talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, you apply the following test. Recollect the face of the poorest and weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his life and destiny? ... Then you will find your doubt and your self melting away.”

He said this in a socio-political context. I believe that it can be applied in various other situations as well.

Well, how about in the context of the family? I suspect, in recent times the family has gotten reduced to the couple, and most often times to oneself. One's own well being and comfort has become the most important driving force in the society. Rampant individualism that has been consistently promoted in our society for the last few decades has become the menace of it. Just look at the most shared social messages over the social media. Most often times it will be something concerning how to make oneself happy. Now, is that too bad an idea? No. Not at all. But when emphasized to the extreme, and only unidirectionally- it becomes simply madness.

Very often I wonder, why there is so much of religion-bashing in our society? At least one of the reasons could be that, the toughest stumbling blocks to an unbridled individualism is still the presence of religion in the society.

We humans also are part of Nature. It's simply not natural for any species to be non-futuristic. The concern and orientation should be about the future of the species.

Therefore,

"a little child shall lead them"!

(Is. 11:6)