A Symbol of Unity

This episode highlights the relationship between morality and negative emotions of the People of Myanmar, and a possibility that these negative experiences can collectively become a symbol of unity.

Hi everyone,

This is your host Sayar Henry and thank you for tuning in to my podcast today.

As I’m recording this episode, we are in the third week of October, and I’ve heard some news about the seasonal flu that many families have encountered.

So I wish and hope that all of you guys are safe and in good health. We also don’t know if or when the fourth wave of COVID-19 is going to hit the region as we’d just seen pictures of ignorant people on pagodas on the full moon day of Thadingyut.

So please take care, you guys, and take all the necessary precaution without any excuse, okay?

All right, now let’s get into the topic that has been on my mind recently, which I believe many of you will find relatable.

These days, I notice that I’ve been feeling stuck and unmotivated for some reason.

Although I took a look back at myself, I couldn’t figure out the exact reason.

Normally, I am adept at pushing away my negative emotions and summoning the positive mindset.

But this time, I couldn’t manage my negative emotions as properly as I wanted to.

So it got me thinking, “Oh boy, what is wrong with me these days?”

Then as I dug deeper, I realized that I was subconsciously worried about some financial matters and that it was constantly weighing me down like an invisible baggage.

But interestingly, it was not this baggage that’s troubling me.

It was the judgement that I put on myself to see how well I handle the baggage.

I mean… generally, in the past, I used to solve such financial matters quite well as a self-employed teacher.

So, I subconsciously compared my current version with the past version.

And not surprisingly, I found that my current capacity to solve financial matters paled in comparison to what I used to be in the past.   

As a result, this decline in my capacity started to make me feel stupid and depressed.

And because I am a person who has a very high self-esteem, feeling stupid and depressed hit me really bad.

It was hard for me to see myself doing so poorly.

And I kept telling myself that I should be growing not declining, that I would fix it, that I would do better, and that I would reverse it.

But in reality, no matter how I hard I tried, I kept failing and failing as I could never bring myself back to what I used to be.

Feeling miserable and realizing that I couldn’t escape from this downward spiral of negative emotions any time soon, I decided to ignore and let go of the conclusions I derived from this self-judgement process.

It was then, after letting go of this self-judgement, that I noticed I’d been looking at it all wrong.

It struck my mind that I’d been measuring myself against the old ruler, without considering that things are not the same anymore these days.  

I mean … since the coup happened, we have lost everything — family, friends, jobs, income, and even dreams.

And we have been struggling and struggling in this shitty situation for almost 10 months.

The economy is down and the whole country is on the verge of collapse.

This is one of those times in life where nothing works as expected and everything falls apart because of external factors that we can’t control.

After reminding myself of this big picture, I came to the realization that it was foolish of me to beat myself up with this old habit of self-judgement that constantly demands growth.

I mean … it’s not even the right time to measure how well you perform or how much you can earn.

Now is the time for survival, justice, and freedom, not for growth.

So, tell me, how the heck can I be growing?

And how the heck can YOU be growing?

And how the heck can everyone be okay?

The truth is, we are not even supposed to be okay.

We are supposed to feel these negative feelings because it’s an indication that our moral compass is pointing at the right direction.

If you say you’re doing okay these days and are free of all negative emotions that everyone is feeling, then something is very wrong with you and your morality.

So, if you have been feeling stuck, unmotivated, pissed, hopeless, depressed, or even useless, it’s important to realize that you are feeling that way because your morals are in check.

Whether you are an unemployed person at the moment, or a student who is feeling stuck with your academic goals, or a professional who is struggling to fulfill your obligations, it’s time to remember that we are in this together.

So instead of judging ourselves against what we would normally achieve and beating ourselves up with typical expectations, we need to start embracing these negative emotions and see it as a symbol of our unity.

Whenever you feel anxious, lost, or depleted, I want you to remember that it doesn’t mean you are weak.

It just means that you are on the right path, and that you are a part of something bigger than yourself.

It’s a beacon showing us the way.

And it is telling us that it’s okay not to be okay.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of this episode as well as Season 2 of this podcast. Thank you so much for listening and walking with me on this journey.

If you love my podcast and if you think it has added some value to your life, you can support this podcast by becoming a member of my content library where you can get access to exclusive language learning materials. I’ll put relevant links in the description.

But it is also okay if you’re not able to join. The fact that you guys are listening to my podcast repeatedly and sharing it with your friends already means so much to me and that gives me enough strength to create another Season.

Take care and stay safe wherever you are. 


We will hang out again 3 weeks later.  

Justice will prevail.