Most of our conscious time is taken away by the
environment in which we exist. While some of it is subject to our
responsibilities, much of it is thrown away by us on the most frivolous events
which do not have any bearing on us. The details of the personal lives of other
people, nonsensical tantrums of the celebrities and the venom spewing diatribe
of the politicians play havoc with our limited stint on this planet. We read
about such superfluous (mis)deeds in great detail in the newspapers or on the
internet and then discuss those with our friends and family giving greater
credence to those who scarcely deserve it.
When we explore this thread and see where it comes
from, we discover that it is has spawned an entire generation of newscasters
and news-makers who feed upon each other. The so called paparazzi who almost
chased Lady Diana to death are flag bearers of a certain kind of journalism
which find greater space in electronic and print media than ever before. The
recent pictures of the Indian acting duo of Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor on a
private holiday too fall in this genre of journalism of sensationalizing a non-event
beyond sensible measures.
At the same time, the celebrity news-makers too make it
a point to be accessible to such media persons who are nosy enough and through
various contrived or outrageous acts draw attention towards themselves to grab
more of news space. The overpowering need of the politicians and elements of
the entertainment industry to be in the headlines, many a times force them to
utter such bizarre rubbish which they would not have voiced otherwise. They
love controversies since that helps them stay alive in the media space for a
greater time.
The necessity of writing the above lines is to make
the argument evident that while salacious and imprudent stories will keep
appearing in the media for a variety of reasons, tracking them by
readers/viewers leads to a wasteful expenditure of the limited time we have
been allotted on earth. This time is for us to spend most profitably. And what
greater profit can man make than elevating his own self to the stature beyond
which any comparison pales. Use this time to clear out doubts which you have
about your field of work. Use this time to generate a higher level of thought
which benefits both you and the mankind. Use this time to comfort a broken
heart. Use this time to bring solace to a tortured body.
Respect the moments. These moments are the sum of your
life. Gifting these moments to events and people who neither care for your existence
nor your well-being is disrespecting your own self.
