The Road to a Safer Future.

Before we begin, I want you to picture this scenario. It may take a while, but it is a thought worth questioning about.

You wake up in the morning, the sunlight’s intense warmth brushing against your cheek and you feel a sense of comfort that brightens your mood. You turn and find your sisters and brothers laying next to you, fondled in a deep sleep, and they look beautifully composed. You wonder when the last time they slept in peace was. You glance up into the bright blue skies of your nation, which, according to the world, is named Syria. Your home was supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to be free for your family to survive in. You stare around and sense nothing but tranquility, which is rather strange in a country like yours. Everything appears to be perfect, or appears to be perfect, and a relieved smile almost escapes your lips when the unthinkable occurs: a massive explosion occurs barely a hundred meters away from where you lie.The blast is so loud that it rings in your ears and startles your siblings.You rush outside, but it is too late, as smoke and dust lurks in every corner of your sight, and you feel your body suddenly losing its vigor to stand and everything is turning black, black, black.

Or imagine yourself, a girl happily strolling among the plains of your neighborhood, feet on the ground but dreaming, trying to reach high into the clouds. With books in your hand and passion erupting in your heart, you head over to your second home, when a sweaty hand clamps over your mouth. Your belongings are scrambled across the ground, and all you can do is nothing but hear your muffled sobs and screams, as you try to break free from this eerie nightmare. At that moment, you are unaware of what to do, while your body is whisked away to God-knows-where, and you quiver intensely that you can not control yourself. That innocence, which you had guarded for thirteen years, was stolen by someone whose empty mind is in the devil’s workshop.

I know, it is a rather intense moment to picture inside your head, and deep down, you are immensely grateful that you are here, sitting on your favorite couch instead, and silently reading this article. But the above scenarios aren’t just scenarios. These plots happen in the real world every day, every minute, and we can do nothing to help them.

What we usually do, as normal human beings, when certain topics like these arise, is read, pity the living, and then move on to the next thing we are focused on. Honestly, you aren’t wrong. You are a human being, after all, and human beings can feel empathy when they come across a subject like this, but consider another thought and wonder, delve deeper into the subject, and concentrate more on why these events occur in our world. As you dig deeper, you realize one straightforward fact: Isn’t our world safe to live in anymore?

You may live in a safe neighborhood, but it may not be the ideal safety-free environment. You might start to question everyone’s freedom and safety out there, especially your loved ones. This calls into question everyone’s safety in this world, for us, our children, and future generations. A father may think twice about sending his daughter out to her best friend’s birthday party alone, or a traveler may bring his dreams to a halt before planning his getaway trip. A woman may realize that her Mr. Right isn’t right for her anymore. Would we want our freedom to stop if our surroundings weren’t safe anymore, when you consider looking at the current ongoing situation in the world, and see the bigger picture?

As a young adult myself, I do have goals and dreams. One of them is to explore the world, discover new things and have a crazy life, but the thought of my safety just frightens me. Okay, I’m an independent, brave young woman, but who can guarantee my safety when I have no idea of the disastrous future that awaits me? Our freedom vanishes due to misfortunes in the world. But bravery must jump ahead of fear, forcing our way into the outside world.

The thing is, no one actually gives a second thought about the circumstances that follow safety unless they experience them themselves, or their loved ones. It is that time when they express their wrath to the world, and when the rest of the world does not acknowledge their sufferings, they drown in a sea of despondence, and it can be extremely frightening.

But honestly, what can you do about it? What can you do to deserve the peace and safety you need? Even if you are born into royalty, safety is not guaranteed, and it does not come with a silver spoon. No one feels ecstatic either when they discover news of an eight-year old raped and killed by a person’s greed and desire. Nobody can stop these things from happening, and it’s heartbreaking to know that there are people out there jeopardizing our safety, from commoners to rulers.

So what can you do about it?

First, do not be self-centered. If there is any practical way of keeping your family safe, share it with others. Make use of your own resources, technology and communication. Remember that your safety is also others’ safety. Spread hope, love and good will towards each other. I have come across a quote by Thomas Merton, a famous monk and writer, which I believe is a quote which is not to be overlooked.

True happiness is found in unselfish love. A love which increases in proportion as it is shared.

Second, spread awareness. Help those around you to be fearless and brave and train them to see the incoming circumstances when faced with a difficult task. Share topics and posts that have the potential to raise awareness and become a trend. Create a goal to spread information that will have an impact on society.If people can make a simple egg go viral, why not the real-time issues faced by the world? Keep safety on everyone’s mind. Make your message clear and straightforward. If you see something that threatens your rights and safety, fight for it. Do not just fight for yourself, fight for your family, for your community, for your peace.

Third, be confident about what you are doing to have an impact. To be realistic, you may wonder why simply sharing and spreading awareness of a safe future would make any difference: it does make a difference. Your efforts may have a 0.0001% chance of influencing the modern century, but you have the satisfaction of knowing that you tried, and you are slowly making a difference. You can not place a bed of roses beside each and every human being for their safety, but simple things do matter, if you simply don’t give up.

Everyone needs peace. Everyone deserves peace. As human beings, the only thing we can help to make is a safer future, to be smart and face any situation that comes ahead of us, to spread awareness, help those in need, be kind and gentle, and fearless.

And if the world joined hands to stop war and greed, we could hope for a better, safer future, for ourselves, our parents, our children, our generations to come. We could be invincible. So, the least thing we can do is hope, have faith, and love one another. These words may not have an impact on you, but they could make a difference if you make a simple yet significant effort, and hope for a better, safer future.

Just one baby step at a time.