Vaisakhi and the state of our world.

ਸਦਾ ਚਿਰ ਵਾਰ ਖਾਂਦਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਦਿਲ
ਹੈ ਸਾਹ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਦੇ ਕਿੰਝ ਭਰਦਾ, ਮੇਰੇ ਤੋਂ ਪੁਛੋ।

(How does a perpetually breaking heart,
takes breaths of joy, ask me.) 

So, people are dying of simply breathing.

We're still intent on building pipelines that'll leak and destroy the planet.

Children of the world are getting raped and murdered. Or massacred in schools.

We're ready to bomb a country senselessly.

We won't pay the teachers or put money into public schools but blame them for children getting molested in their absence?!

No need to raise the minimum wage, but yes, lets raise the rents!

Oh yes, you need experience and a degree for this entry level job and no it won't even pay your basic bills, let alone your student loans.

Oh, the White Rhinos are extinct, no worries they found a few more of the other kind in some jungle of India.

Is there good news?

Oh yes, Vaisakhi - Sure! Let’s kill the hope and philosophy by giving into colonization and label Khande bate di Pohul as Baptism.

Walking down the street, I still chased a butterfly. Said Hello to some strangers, one asked me how I was, and I automatically replied "Chardikala!" No, not someone who knew Gurmukhi. I smiled and replied in English "I'm good." You see, that's the spirit of Khalsa. That's what today means. No I'm not impervious. That's not why you find me smiling in face of disasters. I just know not to ignore what I feel and know how to heal.