These are days we hear of super highways or expressways, to take us from one place to another, in the shortest possible time, for those who can afford it. Indeed, it may even become a doorway, to enter the world of opportunities and prosperity for the opportunists, leaving the larger population far behind, distancing the gap between the haves and have-nots, the rich and the poor. This was aggravated by the announcement in parliament yesterday that public or private buses will not be allowed to use the showpiece expressway for at least three months. The reason given was to ensure safety but opposition critics are likely to say with some validity that billions of rupees were laid out to build an expressway mainly for the elite.

What we need do, is to prepare a way into human hearts. People all over the world, especially the marginalized, are living in despair, destitution and desolation. Even among family members there is discord and hence a refusal to interact. In such situations we find a disturbance in the human psyche. This gives rise to various types of abuses from the sexual to drugs and alcohol. The spiritual side of man is unable to develop itself, for the evolution of a healthy society. The development of the economy then would be of little use, for peace within people would never be achieved. What would it profit if we gain the whole world but suffer the loss of our state of mind?

Having got used to going so fast in life, from the time we wake up, to coming home late evening, it is found that people develop an exhaustion syndrome. We have many gadgets in our homes to get things done quickly, but find that at the end of the day we cannot find time to get things done. Ironically, gone is the era, when the earlier generations achieved much more moving at a relaxed pace. Let’s then decide to build a highway into lives of family or interact with those at home, instead of gathering around the brainwashing ‘Idiot Box’ that kills conversation and stunts development. Let’s remember, the child we have, would soon grow into adulthood and if the child has not savoured the joy of communicating with parents, it would lose the art of communicating at all. This could even have a direct affect when the child gets married, finding that he or she is unable to cope with life.

The new highway we need build can be only done by you, at no cost. It only costs a decision; which may be the only difficult part. Once decided, it ironically falls into place. This highway is a narrow one that leads to life for those who journey on it. The wide road is where many find themselves, which leads to destruction. So let’s take the difficult path to reconcile with those we have something against or them with us. Disputes need to be settled. Swords turned into ploughshares. The harsh words of slander spoken can be more destructive than an AK47.

We invite all the people then to go on the fast track, to reach out to estranged families, other communities and neighbours we hardly know or speak to. This is the way to build our nation for a lasting reign that is not the prerogative of any person, but discovered in the spiritual highway, that all people have access to. May you discover it, above and beyond selfishness or self-centredness.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka