I see a general state of anxiety amongst people today. Taking precautions…….being careful. This feeling got stronger during the 2 years I spent in Mumbai while studying for my Post Graduation.

Post 26/11 and other such tragedies across the country, there is distrust towards even neighbors and fellow beings. An unknown object or person evokes immediate question of whether I need to save myself from it. We are told to inform the police on seeing an unknown/ abandoned bag or a strange looking person. We don’t think that someone may have lost a bag……or the person who looks strange may actually be lost. The first thought is, about informing some form of security.

Even children are conditioned from a tender age to be good, which often equals to being scared and over cautious.

The sad part is all these fear and concern for safety have not been able to stop the instigators from spreading more fear and distrust.

Yet there is so much faith in identity cards or pieces of paper that endorse one’s authenticity or morality instead of trusting our own judgments about another person.

  In repeatedly proving my identity, I have lost myself.

The dangers are real, and we need to confront them. But the question is, who is it that we actually fear- the people who might harm us or the fear of being harmed itself?

Can building boundaries and creating distrust offer safety? Are these the solutions- or the cause of the problem?