We are penetrating deep inside an ideal society; just concentrate and use your imagination while reading this; it's important to set aside any criticism you have in your mind.
Meet Ahmad. He is from the Earthly Heaven, and he is eager to tell you his life story.
I was born to a labour-class family as the eldest son. As I grew up, so did my understanding of the society and the people around me. I remember things from as far back as when I was an 8-year-old child. My father worked as a mason in bridge construction, while my mother spent most of her time caring for the society (i.e. looking after the neighbours’ children, visiting the sick and helping the elderly), with sporadic visits to nearby farms to ensure the safety of seedlings. When I was a child, my mother told me that she considered all the children in the neighbourhood as her own, and this was evident from her behaviour. Indeed, all the children were my brothers and sisters. Not a single day passed without our family gathering at midnight and asking each other whether we had helped any needy person that day, whether we had shared our meal with anyone, whether we had tried to comfort any person in mental stress, whether we had maintained peace, and whether we had tried to stop any immorality that occurred. You might be shocked to hear this, but we never cooked the vegetables we bought from the market. Every day we received baskets full of fruits and vegetables as gifts from neighbours and even from people we had not known before. We only retained as much as was needed for the day, while the rest (including the vegetables we bought) was again distributed among others (different people), even if we had to travel to other neighbourhoods.
I remember one day the doorbell rang (I had just returned from school). I opened the door and was surprised to see three to five sturdy men with flowers in their hands. They asked permission to come in to visit my father; he had been sick for the past three days and had not gone to work in the meantime.
The permission was granted by my father, and I accompanied them to the bedroom. One of them approached the bed and handed over an envelope and all the flowers, while the others sat on the other side. The person who handed over the gifts was the contractor and manager of the company for which my father worked; the others were my father’s colleagues. They came to know of the illness that very morning and decided to visit together. They told my father to ask for any kind of help if he felt any stress or necessity. They left after approximately half an hour. After that, there were visits by a number of family members and friends, and subsequently an influx of kindness and wholeheartedness (my father had concealed his health condition because he did not want to disturb others and alter their schedules, which could cause any kind of distress).
One day, my father sat alongside me when I was getting ready to sleep at night. He asked me about my interests and future preferences. I told him that I wanted to be a farmer, as I loved growing plants and taking care of them. He appreciated me and told me, “My dear son, I want you to serve the society no matter which occupation you adopt. Those who care for others are the more respectful ones; I want you to be a caretaker. Never compromise societal benefit for your personal prioritizations. Keep in mind that wealth is essential but is not the goal. You must consider it as a source to fulfil your needs, as an obligation to help others, and as a responsibility to maintain a balance in the society.” I promised him that I would do my best to achieve these goals. Time passed, and I completed my studies and started my career as a local farmer. The land for farming was not my own, but that never intimidated me. The owner visited frequently, and he always paid tribute and said, “My child, you are the one who cares for the society, and I wish I could do the same.” Although other farmers were worthfuls, I was the one respected the most, because I only utilized the resources that I needed for the day while I gifted the rest to others, i.e. I was not eager to make extra money. It was not forbidden, as other farmers did sell the rest, but I was the one who simply lived for others. I remember that whoever had wealth never disturbed the desire to necessity equilibrium; in other words, they always preferred societal benefit and did not prioritize personal desires. The wealth was ultimately returned in the form of investment, charity, gifts, loans without profit etc. I spent the next 25 years raising different crops. The techniques that I employed were revolutionized in the meantime with greater and greater efficiency. Although most of them were self-made, they proved to be greatly beneficial. My crops were the most abundant ones and were admired by many farmers in the vicinity. Keeping in view their interest, I started to share the efficient techniques with them on a frequent basis. In no time, the whole county flourished with more and more intellectual ideas supported by on-the-ground realities. It was a great pleasure for me to witness this kind of inclusiveness and enthusiasm.
Now, to tell you about the day that was unprecedented and unexpected: I really got worried that day. In the early morning, I went to the fields, as usual, to greet every farmer working there, but there were none at all. At first, I thought that I had reached too early, but until noon the fields were empty. Although it was a custom to gather at the weekend for a meeting to discuss problems and their probable solutions, it was the start of the week, with a number of days left before such a meeting. I hastily packed my instruments and went from house to house asking for the whereabouts of my friends, but every time I came to know that they had left home as usual. It was a hard time, but I somehow spent the night and hurriedly went to the fields the next day and started waiting for the others to arrive. I saw three of the farmers approaching me; I was pleased to see them and rushed towards them to ask about the others. They wholeheartedly consoled me and told me that the others were waiting for me, so I should accompany them. They took me to the County Hall; it was full of farmers from every corner of the area. They all welcomed me. I was the chief guest there. All of a sudden, an announcement was made: “We all congratulate our friend Ahmad on his selection as our representative and the commanding authority.” I was shocked and hesitant, but chose to conceal my condition because I did not want to ruin their expectations. The day passed and the night came. While lying on my couch, I thought that it was a huge responsibility and that I should abandon the position. I was struggling to make a final decision when suddenly I remembered the promise I had made to my father in my childhood. It was the right time to set aside my personal prioritization and plan for the benefit of the society. It was a turning point in my life, as I was given a chance to benefit more and more people.
As an organizer, I visited the fields every day and interacted with the farmers to have a thorough knowledge of their challenges and needs. My experience gave me leverage in efficient planning and decision-making, with the implementation of strategies that benefit all in a specific manner. Though my responsibility increased, the amount of work remained the same; the new thing was the integration. I had to coordinate things with each other for relieving the stress of needs as well as environmental and physical stress.
The days passed and my organizational capability increased. Even with all this, I was able to give time to my family and friends. My routine to visit the needy was not affected either; still, I was not interested in making wealth, as it was going to increase my commitment and I would have to devise ways or strategies to allow a constant flow of resources in the society; also, I always wanted to retain my zest to be a caretaker, so I gave away anything that was beyond my need. At times, I even compromised my needs to comfort others. The trend did not change, and I was the most admired personality among all the representatives of different counties. I remember it was the winter season; the county representatives from all over the state were to meet the next week to decide on the farmers’ nominee for the head of the state (the process is that, firstly, the representatives are put forth by each sub-sector of the county; I was the representative from the farming sub-sector of the major sector, Agriculture. These sub-sector nominees are then subjected to selection by other sub-sectors to appoint the regulator of the major sector; these major-sector regulators from different counties then select the nominee for the head of the state; the same is done by the different major sectors of the county; there is a rotation for the major-sector selection as well as for the nominee selection). I was sitting in the office while examining different files when suddenly a man came in; he was breathing heavily. He told me that the regulator of the county had had a tragic accident. He was visiting the major water channel when suddenly he slipped and fell into the gushing water and drowned despite attempts to save him. It was a day of mourning for us. After finishing the funeral proceedings, we (the sub-sector representatives) had an emergency meeting to discuss the next course of action; we did not want to have an impasse in the organizational responsibilities. We decided to select an immediate successor the same day, as it was essential for the selection process the next week. Once again, I was reluctant to occupy the position, as I considered myself the one with relatively less experience. But for my colleagues, I was the most competent one, so they nominated me for the position. I said to myself, “Ahmad! They expect a great deal from you; never fall short in supporting the society in the hour of need.”
Anyhow, I took charge as a regulator. Things were going smoothly, and there was no major lag in commanding procedures. The main challenge was the selection meeting to be held in a matter of days. As my predecessor (regulator) was the selected nominee for Agriculture, the revision committee (the body that reviews the competence of the nominees whenever a position falls vacant), after a thorough analysis of my strategic competence, retained the status for me. To state it clearly, if I were to be selected as the head (there was a high chance, as my county’s performance was distinguished), it would have been difficult for me to make both ends meet. The rules did not allow me to withdraw at such short notice (as the selection process had already begun, and a withdrawal would have caused an impasse in the organizational responsibilities).
It was the weekend; at about noon, the meeting started. A graph displaying the progress level of different nominees was on the table of each attendee. The nominees had already burnt the midnight oil to analyse the competence of every other nominee based on different standards, and they were in a good position to make the right decision. There was a debate as to which standards must be prioritized in accordance with the needs at hand. It was a lengthy session, and we had to draw the final conclusion. In the end, I was the most suitable nominee for selection. I tried my best to present counter-arguments, but they had made the decision. The announcement was made, and now I was officially the Head of the State.
Things were different now; I was struggling to manage things due to a low level of understanding of procedures at such a high level. My routine was disturbed, and I had to spend more working hours. This kind of condition had never happened to me earlier in my life. My health started deteriorating while my social life came to a halt. Now, my condition started to attract others’ attention. Some strange things seemed to take place in my vicinity; I felt that I was under observation. It felt like people wanted to find the root cause of my problems, which were now obvious.
One day at the weekend, I was in my home making strategies while inspecting a number of documents when the bell rang. My eldest son approached the door and opened it. There were three gentlemen carrying some files with them. They asked for permission to come in; it was granted, and they came in with greetings in the beginning. They started the discussion in a joyful mood, perhaps to comfort me. They were past Heads of the State. They told me that they were here to help me cope with the difficulties and share their experiences. In a month, their experience increased my efficiency, and things went back to normal. As the Head of the State, I served the society for years before voluntarily stepping down. I wanted others to have a chance to serve the society. I still live in my parents’ two-bedroom house. Although my parents are no longer in this world, I feel pleasure that I have fulfilled the promise that I made to my father as a child, and that I did not waste my life but lived the life of a respectful man.
This is my brief life story; the society I live in is like a Heaven...
“THE EARTHLY HEAVEN”
Start: 6 December 2023, Wednesday
Complete: 4 January 2024, Thursday