In Sindh, in Pakistan, and across the world, we must rise from survival and step into living. It begins with a shift in mindset and extends into how we educate, govern, and love

By Abdullah Usman Morai | Sweden

The Illusion of a Life Well-Lived

In a world dominated by glittering cities, social media snapshots, and the tireless race to acquire more, we have come to confuse the act of living with the performance of living. We see images of opulent homes, exotic holidays, designer clothes, and business-class boarding passes, and instinctively label them as signs of a fulfilling life. Yet, behind many of those images lies emptiness, anxiety, and spiritual starvation. In contrast, we ignore the barefoot child who laughs uncontrollably while playing with a wheel in a dusty street, or the elderly woman who smiles peacefully while preparing tea on a wood stove in a rural village of Sindh.

Are these people just surviving, or are they, in fact, truly living? The answer demands that we dismantle our current definitions and reconstruct a more human, more soul-nourishing understanding of life.

What Does It Mean to Truly Live?

To truly live is to wake up with purpose, to find joy in moments big and small, to be present with those you love, and to possess the freedom to shape your own life. It is about emotional and spiritual engagement with the world, not just physical existence. It is about fulfillment, not routine. Living is when you have time to dream and the mental space to reflect. It’s when your heart beats not just to survive the next bill or hurdle, but to connect, create, and grow.

In developed countries, such as Sweden or the Netherlands, even a schoolteacher or a janitor can have a balanced life — work a decent job, take vacations, afford healthcare, and pursue hobbies. These societies are built not just to enable survival, but to promote a flourishing life. Public transport works. Education is accessible. Work-life balance is prioritized. A sense of safety exists. The system respects human dignity.

Case Study 1: Sweden – A Society Built for Living

Take the example of Anna, a librarian in Stockholm. She works 35 hours a week, gets five weeks of paid vacation annually, and spends her weekends hiking with her children or painting. Healthcare is free. She doesn’t own a luxury car, but she cycles to work along scenic, safe roads. She feels valued by society, has time for family, and rarely feels overwhelmed. Anna may not be rich by global standards, but she is deeply alive.

But what about here in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh? Even educated professionals often find themselves caught in a cycle of stress, inflation, political instability, and lack of opportunity. The dream to live becomes a luxury only a few can afford. Most are focused on how to make it through the month. A majority are not choosing their paths; they are reacting to circumstances.

Who Is Truly Living—The Wealthy or the Contented?

We often associate luxury with living. But is that accurate? Consider the rich industrialist in Karachi who has multiple homes, foreign passports, and endless bank balances. He dines at the finest restaurants but often eats alone. His eyes are tired from constant scheming, and his trust has been eroded by betrayals and fake friendships. His children are disconnected, his health is poor from overwork or indulgence, and sleep is a stranger to him.

Compare that to a schoolteacher in a village outside Sukkur. He earns little, but his students adore him. He gardens in the evening, prays at dusk, and watches the stars in silence. His life is humble, but his heart is at peace. He may not have what the world calls “success,” but he lives in gratitude, with dignity and purpose.

Case Study 2: Bhutan – Gross National Happiness Over GDP

Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom, rejects GDP as its only measure of progress. Instead, it measures Gross National Happiness (GNH), which emphasizes spiritual wellbeing, community vitality, and ecological balance. Tashi, a farmer in Paro Valley, wakes up to prayer chants, tends his organic fields, and returns home to a modest house with extended family. Despite not owning a car or earning in dollars, his life is rooted in tradition, connection, and joy.

So who is richer in the truest sense?

Living is not defined by air-conditioned rooms or brand-name shoes. It is defined by mental peace, meaningful relationships, inner contentment, and freedom of time and thought. A rich man living in fear and disconnection may be surviving. A poor man who smiles from the soul may be living fully.

What Does It Mean to Survive?

Survival is when the body goes through the motions of life, but the heart is tired and the mind is preoccupied with burdens. Survival is not just about poverty; it is about pressure, stagnation, and mental captivity. A woman managing her house and children in Hyderabad on a limited income, worried about rising utility bills, her child’s school fees, and her own health, is surviving. She may not even have the time or energy to ask herself what she wants from life. A university graduate driving a Careem in Karachi while sending resumes every night is surviving, not living.

Case Study 3: Japan – The Tragedy of Overwork

In Tokyo, Japan, the phenomenon of “karoshi” — death by overwork — has become disturbingly common. Kenji, a 45-year-old corporate worker, died from a heart attack at his desk after months of 14-hour workdays. He earned a high salary, wore the finest suits, and lived in a high-rise apartment, yet never saw his children awake. His life was spent chasing productivity metrics, not meaning.

Survival mode robs us of our humanity. It narrows our vision to just the next deadline, the next meal, or the next transaction. It turns us into machines responding to life, not authors creating it.

What Are the Parameters of a Life Well-Lived?

If money is not the ultimate measure, what is? What makes a life worth celebrating?

• Peace of Mind: A silent room with a calm heart is more valuable than a noisy world with internal chaos.
• Time for Loved Ones: Life is fleeting. Moments with parents, children, and friends are the essence of living.
• Freedom to Choose: The ability to pursue dreams, change direction, and shape your story.
• Purpose: Whether through work, art, prayer, or service — feeling useful, needed, and connected.
• Gratitude: Those who appreciate small joys are rarely poor in spirit.

By these standards, many wealthy people are impoverished. And many who have little are living in abundance.

How Does Society Contribute to Survival or Living?

The difference between surviving and living is not just personal — it is political, structural, and cultural. In developed countries, governments create ecosystems where living is supported. A child born in Finland has access to free education, healthcare, and a dignified life, regardless of their family’s income. The system carries people forward.

In Pakistan — and especially in rural Sindh — the system often does the opposite. Corruption, nepotism, poor infrastructure, and broken institutions mean that even the most talented individuals struggle to rise. Students in government schools sit under broken fans. Doctors are underpaid. Artists are ignored. Innovators are choked by bureaucracy.

Our culture also plays a role. We pressure youth to follow conventional paths: become a doctor, get married early, buy property. We rarely ask: What makes you feel alive? Emotional intelligence, creativity, mental health, and personal freedom are often sidelined. The result? A generation that knows how to earn but not how to live.

Case Study 4: Karachi – Escaping the Trap

Faraz, a brilliant 24-year-old from Lyari, was once trapped in survival mode — working at a mobile shop by day, studying under candlelight by night. With mentorship and access to online scholarships, he eventually made it to a tech fellowship in Germany. Today, he builds software and teaches young kids back home. His story is one of breaking free — not from poverty alone, but from the limits imposed on his mind.

Escaping Survival Mode: A Wake-Up Call

Survival mode is a dangerous place to stay in. It dulls the senses, drains joy, and limits potential. The first step out is awareness. Recognizing that your routine, though functional, may not be fulfilling. Then comes courage — to ask difficult questions: Am I happy? Do I feel connected? Am I present in my own life?

We need to stop glorifying suffering and start valuing presence, rest, joy, and meaning. We need to re-imagine education not just as a tool for employment, but for empowerment. We need leaders who prioritize health and happiness, not just highways and headlines.

Choose to Live, Not Just Exist

We are not born merely to survive. We are not here just to pay bills, scroll feeds, or chase hollow dreams. We are here to feel the wind, to taste fruit, to hold hands, to cry deeply, and laugh louder. To connect. To grow. To contribute.

In Sindh, in Pakistan, and across the world, we must rise from survival and step into living. It begins with a shift in mindset and extends into how we educate, govern, and love. Let us not wait until old age or tragedy to realize we never truly lived. Let today be the moment we awaken.

Because the greatest tragedy is not death — it is never having truly lived while we were alive.

Read: Feudalism Must Fall

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Abdullah Soomro, penname Abdullah Usman Morai, hailing from Moro town of Sindh, province of Pakistan, is based in Stockholm Sweden. Currently he is working as Groundwater Engineer in Stockholm Sweden. He did BE (Agriculture) from Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam and MSc water systems technology from KTH Stockholm Sweden as well as MSc Management from Stockholm University. Beside this he also did masters in journalism and economics from Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. He is author of a travelogue book named ‘Musafatoon’. His second book is in process. He writes articles from time to time. A frequent traveler, he also does podcast on YouTube with channel name: VASJE Podcast.

The post Living or Merely Surviving? first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Dr. Jernail S. Anand

*Animals are generally healthy because they eat organic food and think organic thoughts. And men are generally ailing, because we eat synthetic foods, and think carcinomic thoughts.

Is Life a Prolongated Death?

We are in the habit of thinking only of life or only of death. These two binaries, however, fail to describe life in its true factuality. Just as we go to another country with a visa which expires on a particular date, and we possess a return ticket too, we come on this earth also with a return ticket. Only we don’t know anything about the expiry date of the visa.  When gods are up to give life to a person, and before it is given, they inscribe the date of death also. So, we can say, where there is life, there is death. Or, there is no death if there is no life. Only those things die which possess life.  The mention of the word ‘death’ disturbs us. Death is not an enemy. It is no penalty, either. It is also not the wages of sin. Death delivers us from the fouls that we have committed during our life time. Death uses its scissors, and cuts off the string and all our travails are over.

I have a strong feeling that life and death are like two sisters which are lying in embrace.  You have lived one day. Where is it now? It is lying in the pool of death. Each moment, which we have lived, has gone to the trash basket. Open it, and you will see what is lying in your immediate past. Just as we recover documents from our trash box, from our past we summon our memories whenever we feel like. But that moment which we lived at that time, which is now dead, cannot come to life again.

Where there is life, there is death. Or, there is no death if there is no life. Only those things die which possess life.

So, it is not difficult to surmise that death is a constant friend. If a moment does not die, how can it be lived? Death makes it possible for us to step onward towards the completion of our journey. In between, whatever we do, that is our accomplishment. Death is a necessity, not a punishment. It is a punishment if it does not come to people who are in a state of physical disarray.

Gods and the Psychopathic Chill

I sometimes wonder why gods are developing some psychotic symptoms. A psychopath loves to kill and shed blood.  And gods nowadays, it appears, do not believe in simple death. They too are affected by the OTT bug. They try to make death a spectacular feast. Or it seems, some medical entrepreneurs have been able to seek access to gods, they might have bribed them, as it happens these days, and the contract now signed with the medical team is: don’t accept death in its positive degree, nor in comparative, but only in its superlative form.  Gods will take delivery of dead people from hospital wards, after post mortem, and only after a certificate that their vital organs have been duly removed. The medical teams invite godly inspection teams who ensure that no patient is allowed to die unless and until he spends a few days on the ventilator. In divine language, ventilator is a spring board which helps a dying man, reach his destination, without jerks. So, death these days is not easy. What can we say to gods?

Satanomia

Satan who was in cohoots with corrupt minds of this world, asked Eve to go for knowledge. And knowledge has brought us to this pass. The blood of an average person, when diagnosed, is found overflowing with satanomia. Some people in villages who were seen deficient in this element, which runs parallel to sodium, and potassium, were discovered to be sampling for peaceful lives. It was a dangerous symptom for jerkless collapse after which gods do not accept anybody back. So, they were kept on a heavy dose of satanomia, and when they started having blood pressure, and stress, they were released from the hospital. Now they are on drugs, to ensure they damage their health and then return to the hospital for their final plunge into ‘heaven’: on the Ventilator.

Beasts and Men

Men are reformed beasts, and their point of departure is: knowledge which makes them more beastly, and hence, unpardonable too. If animals act like beasts, they are excused. But if we men start behaving like mindlosts, we cannot be excused. I sometimes wonder it is men who have opened Veterinary Clinics in to which animals are forced when they fall ill. But the incidence of their falling ill is very rare. The wild animals do not fall ill. They are either alive, or eaten up by some more hungry species. Only those animals become ill, who come in close proximity to the radiations of knowledge which emanate from men [domesticated breeds]. Animals are generally healthy because they eat organic food and think organic thoughts. And men are generally ailing, because we eat synthetic foods, and think carcinomic thoughts. We are plagued by jealousy, hatred, religion, castes, communities, races, colours. Animals too have colours, but have you found them fist-fighting? Yes, they do fight over females. And that too, it is never a deadly fight as in our films. Revenge, blood, gore, extinction, elimination. Nothing. After some time, the female comes to them, because it is a commonwealth. So, no heart break. No stress. No sad songs. No K.L. Saigal.

But men are men. Their food is cooked with fire and treated with spices. So are their thoughts, cooked in hi-fi cockers. There is nothing original and organic in the life of a man these days. So, when eating and, then, thinking goes berserk, men are on direct route to hospitals. I don’t know how the gods have compromised with second quality men. What do they find in people who are diseased and they take served long sentences with doctors. And when turns on the Ventilator, what is left behind of them? All organs have failed. There must be a truck with the medical establishment.

Read: OUR SELF IS OUR SWEETEST DARLING: HOW WE MALTREAT OUR SELF?

We are helpless when it comes to gods. We are no more than snails, found moving on the earth after rains, and getting tossed, some spared and some crushed, under our feet, and we move on botherless. So are gods too powerful for men. They straddle the skies while we don’t even know what is happening to us and why.

[Note: Don’t visit Google, Pl.]

Satanomia is an imaginative state of sickness in which satanic elements are needed and there is deficiency of it.

Mindlosts: People who have lost their minds. If you like this word, it has no you can use it in your writing.

Copyright for both these words ‘Satanomia’ and ‘Mindlosts’ is with the author.

Read: THE WORLD BEYOND POETRY

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Dr. Jernail Singh Anand, President of the International Academy of Ethics, is author of 167 books in English poetry, fiction, non-fiction, philosophy and spirituality. He was awarded Charter of Morava, the great Award by Serbian Writers Association, Belgrade and his name was engraved on the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. The Academy of Arts and philosophical Sciences of Bari [Italy] honoured him with the award of an Honourable Academic.  Recently, he was awarded Doctor of Philosophy [Honoris Causa] by the University of Engineering and Management, Jaipur. Recently, he organized an International Conference on Contemporary Ethics at Chandigarh. His most phenomenal book is Lustus: The Prince of Darkness [first epic of the Mahkaal Trilogy]. Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com

Link Bibliography:

https://atunispoetry.com/2023/12/08/indian-author-dr-jernail-s-anand-honoured-at-the-60th-belgrade-international-meeting-of-writers/

https://sites.google.com/view/bibliography-dr-jernal-singh/home

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