3 minutes and 6 seconds. That’s how long it took for John Lennon to tell us about the world he imagines. The world where we would live as one. A world free of sorrow and pain where humanity precedes everything else. When he said those things, or rather sang about it, he though people called him a dreamer. Maybe the world still is that way. Maybe people like him are still dreamers. But when will that dream become a reality? Are we tired of waiting for it?
Yes, heaven and hell still exist. Though there are people killing in the name of god as well.
But there are those fighting against it. Fight for us, for all humanity. They haven’t given up.
Unlike he imagined, countries still exist too. And yet we don’t respect each other’s borders.
But there are those who welcome others with open hands.
Religion will never go away. People are killing each other over it.
But there are people who are praying for peace too.
We all have possessions. And the greed doesn’t seem to end.
But there are selfless people in the world as well. There still is trust.
The difference between people based on colour, caste & creed still exists.
But there are times when we consider all men to be equal.
I know so many of you believe that 2016 wasn’t a great year. Some unwanted beings came into power.
While some inspiring leaders left us…
The world lost some great legends.
And some amazing artists.
There were tragedies. But we stood together.
Of course, this year has left us wounded. But praying for the year to end is not what will help our cause. We, as humans, should never stop believing, should never stop imagining. When John Lennon sang the song, he did not just do it to sell a million copies. He did it to give the world hope. Hope that we should continue to have.
I know the world is nowhere near to how he had imagined it to be. But all those years ago, he had this dream and the courage to believe. There is no reason for us to resign to an unhappy future now. These things will continue to happen. But as long as there are dreamers like him, there will also be people ready to work towards making those dreams come true.
It is sad that a man who preached for peace was assassinated. But his ‘imagination’ remains. It’s up to us to keep it alive. As the new year comes closer, let’s not curse the one gone by. But let’s work towards having a better one ahead. Let’s not look forward to 2016 ending, but to 2017 beginning. Let’s work towards the day when the world will live as one.
