Letter to Ansh — 2

Dear Ansh

I am your father and I love you very much. It’s hard to describe the feeling you have for your child, and it is a bit unfathomable the depth of that feeling. But it is quiet easy to explain the source of it. You are mine, in the words of one of my favorite author Alexander De Expury, “There are several roses like you, but to me you are special, because you are mine.”

That line by incidentally is from a wonderful book called the Little Prince. You should read it when you get the chance. It is a small little book, but it is one of the most beautiful works ever. It talks about several things which I hope to touch upon in my letters to you. You can read it when you are a child and you should read it when you grow older. It never loses its charm.

I am enroute to Singapore. We must be somewhere over Northern Australia at this moment. It is around 4 30pm going by the time in Melbourne. And we are several thousand feet in the air, defying gravity through the sheer marvel of human progress.

You see we as humans shape and master nature to our will. Some people think that is arrogant to think that we can control nature and nature will fight back and show how feeble we truly are. I think that would be to mischaracterize things. Shaping our surroundings to suit us is something all living beings do to some degree. We as humans have the gift of cognitive intelligence, and we are able to shape our environment to our needs far better than any living form.

Most other living forms adapt to their surroundings, but there are otters who create dams of logs by downing trees and creating an environment something suitable for themselves. They are not trying to stick it up to nature. They are simply doing what they need to do to not just survive but prosper. We as human beings simply have a higher degree of intelligence and have the ability to shape our environment better than others. We don’t just adapt, we modify the environment. You see the desire to prosper, and improve our lot is what truly makes us human.

When we build airplanes, large dams, and roadways, we are not trying to tame nature. We are simply trying to make an environment that best suits our needs and desires. When disasters happens, it is not nature fighting back. To say that nature is fighting back would be to ascribe cognition to a singular collective amorphous entity. It is rather our systems failing to behave in the manner they should. When dams break, they don’t break because the river God got angry. It simply means that the concrete could not handle the stress levels. When natural or other disasters strike, there is no hidden God who is looking to smite us for our arrogance. It is our systems failing to do what they were supposed to do.

The default is chaos and disorder, our systems and technological innovations are a bubble that shield us from the harsh environments nature has. When a system fails it is a reversion to normal. What humanity has achieved is not normal, but something truly marvellous. We all should be grateful that we are born as healthy humans and strive to create or do something that would improve our lot. Use the opportunity called life and take the arch of humanity higher, starting with you first.

Mankind and its technological innovations have changed the face of earth in many ways. More often than not it is for the better. Where it has made it worse, it is primarily because of our inability to care for the commons. We are not the masters of earth and God did not gave us domain over all the animals and birds. We are rather tenants of this beautiful planet of ours, the planet will be here long after we are gone. We are stewards of the environment, our greater intellect does not make us masters, but rather gives us greater responsibility to both ourselves as well as the environment.

You my dear boy, live in a great country called Australia. It took us in and we live in a nation based on the rule of law. You can be anything you want to without fear or relying on favour. You will have an excellent environment to achieve your full potential. You are truly special and lucky. Make the best of these gifts. Do not judge, or discriminate those with lesser gifts than you. Be gentle, caring and kind. Know that not everyone has had the same gifts as you. You will encounter many people while growing up and after you become an adult who will not see things the same way as you do. Where possible try to see if there is objective truth to what they say, and if there is do not hesitate to reform your world view to account for these new facts.

But if there is none, then do not aim to please. But rather steer clear and focus on things where you can be productive. Life is too short and special to be wasted and much remains to be done. You have great power my friend, and with it comes great responsibility.

And always know this, you are my son and I love you very much.

Your loving father

Moresh