If you have ever felt lucky or wanted to…

‘Luck comes to those who make efforts’, people say. I partly agree with that. But why does Mr.Luck never visits everyone based on a same scale? Why does some have to make more efforts than the other? Why does some have to wait longer? There is only one possible answer to these hard questions. It’s called privilege; or rather, the lack of it.. It can be anything that discrimates like gender, color, caste, class, race, ability etc. These come in direct conflict with the universal truth that every human is equal and has equal worth.

If you take a privilege or its lack , even they are not distributed equally in this world either. That’s how the oppressive ideas surrounding the basic notions that affect one’s life deeply have been constructed and more often, frustratingly intersect! Who created ? well, the greedy and the selfish, I guess. If you have felt lucky or unlucky at some point in life, then you have most definitely personally witnessed atleast one of these rigid, otherwise invisible structures.

No one is fully lucky, and no one is fully unlucky either. I like the word ‘privilege’ more than ‘luck’, because of its helpfulness. It feels more accurate in terms of explaining causality and gives some agency to influence and steer it. Privilege could be physical, social, financial, familial or any realm thats an inherent part in making life happen for everyone across the universe.

So the next most important question is what to do with privilege/s or the lack of it. I have been struggling with these questions myself for years now.. We can be privileged in one or more aspect, while also being under privileged in one or more aspects. Behind every privilege and the lack of it here is almost always a “social structure” backed by false ideas and customs that sustain those inequalities. To admit the privileges one has experienced is difficult, since it demands us to do something about it, but it’s almost evil not to , since it directly affects those who lack it. It’s also difficult to admit the lack of a privilege since it could shatter our notions, could make us sad, angry and make us feel unsafe, but it’s almost disrespectful to self not to.

So how to destroy these structures which perpetuate unequal privileges? What role can one play? And How?

Let’s call this “Dismantling Structures”.

I would like to share 5steps which I have learnt and have been trying.

1. Identifying and admitting a privilege in our life or its lack is the first step.. Like I said earlier, a person with privilege in one aspect may not be in another. Both should not be confused together and should be addressed separately, unless there is a clear instance of intersectionality.
2. The second step is to know and understand how a social privilege affects us and how it affects others. Listening to the “other”, without getting defensive gets crucial here.
3. Having understood the effects, how should one respond to all that? Most probably there are already a lot of solutions that are already laid for you by those who fought ahead of you. Test them with the “others”. But, be authentic! Knowing these and preparing oneself is the third step..
4. The fourth step is to try and take those actions, no matter the challenges..
5. Find your allies- who are open, like minded and mutually supportive for the journey

you can ask me what’s worth wrestling through all these endeavours?..Now the answer to that can be given only by you.

Nevertheless, remember one thing. Love, Truth and Hope, have always been the timeless proven methods that make life happen in this vast vast universe ❤️🔑.