One of our greatest assets, the ability to think

I was in one of those pensive moods again today, thinking about all sorts of things, when I thought about what I was doing right then. I was thinking. It seems like I'm stating the obvious when I say that but one would be surprised to know the number of times we subconsciously do things.

Our body is built to adapt and suit our very multifaceted needs, whether it be hiking the Himalayas or sitting at a desk job from 9-5 every day, our body gets the rhythm of things and optimizes how it works to align with your energy needs. One of the few things about our body that we do have almost full control of is our ability to think.

I have always felt that our most underrated characteristic or feature as a species is the ability to think, to be conscious and to be able to communicate this with others of our kind and do meaningful actions. It's often taken for granted and that in my opinion is a great travesty. 

Thinking is what got us here! All the modern amenities we use and can't tolerate a day without were all the product of a simple thought, which much like a seed sprout into a beautiful idea. It's an invaluable trait that has allowed us to achieve progress in a relatively short time frame. Just a few hundred years back the concept of electricity didn't exist and if it weren't for the great visionary minds of Franklin, Edison and Tesla we wouldn't have gotten where we are today.

And yet I feel like today, we are gradually losing our ability to think for ourselves.

I do not use that statement lightly, of course, we still have great visionaries and amazing discoveries being found every day, however, they're just a drop in the ocean compared to how many people seem to have lost their ability to think for themselves in this day and age.

Our society is rife with intolerance, prejudice and ignorance. Why? Because we have ceased to stop thinking open-mindedly. It is natural to want to find acknowledgement and validation of our opinions and beliefs in our peers, however, the trick lies in attempting to do so with a calm and open mind. Human Beings aren't infallible, that's what makes us human and yet if we do not strive to be the best version of ourselves, we'll have lived a life that we'll regret.

How do we stop this ignorance? One might think that it would be by giving importance to knowledge and ideas, after all, it is the very opposite of what ignorance stands for, isn't it? And yet this would do nothing but make the situation even worse. This is how radical ideologies and extremists are born as ignorant people with intelligence are the most dangerous of all.

The infamous Nazi party was originally socialist- a widely subscribed element in modern democratic countries and look how that turned out. As long as we are chained by our own outdated beliefs and ignorance we'll turn even the purest and noblest of ideas are turned into a twisted shell of what they can be.

George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984" offers much insight into the importance of thinking freely. In it the people of a nation- Oceania is now ruled by an unnamed Party which has successfully crushed all opposition by mentally subjugating and brainwashing every citizen down to the most basic aspect of their lives, even the language they speak is not spared and the Party twists news and events all to their benefit, this results in people who live in abject misery and poverty, and yet do nothing about it because they don't have the will to do it or are too busy with their squabbles many of which take root in the actions of the Party.

One may be quick to dismiss this as fiction and yet, a strikingly similar situation can be seen in North Korea today.

Even in India, religious and political riots are commonplace at this point, political violence and assassinations are becoming worryingly frequent, lynching and social media justice has started to override the law and fake news has seemed to take the place of well-sourced news. Why? Because we can't see past all the smoke and mirrors of these theatrics.

Galileo was treated with scorn and derision by the catholic church for daring to propose the revolutionary movement of the earth around the Sun, yet he stood by his work and dared to oppose them. Without his steadfast commitment to the truth, we wouldn't know as much as we do about the world around us today.

Thinking is a double-edged sword, as you must not make any exceptions, not even for your most deep-seated beliefs, you must be critical and impartial to all that you examine.

So I implore you, the reader, to think. We live in an age where information can be communicated as soon as it is created, this is a great power that must be wielded and used wisely. Think about your surroundings, think about your actions and think about the consequences of these actions, it is easy to be lulled into the premise of "do first and think later" but this results in nothing but regret. 

Above all, you mustn't stop thinking no matter what others say or think of you, for in your ability to think, lies your salvation.