While most of us are unaware of the circumstances that actually led to Adnan's resignation it does provide us an opportunity to think about our ownselves, those who are aspiring to be civil servants and those who are civil servants right now. I am not advocating that the decision facing us is to resign or stay or to join or not to join, i am suggesting that the story has a bigger dimension to it. It should make us think about our own choices and what we are doing with our time and what we would rather want ourselves to be doing. Are we statisfied with the direction our lives have taken and are shaping up to be and what makes us satisfied about them and if not so then what precisely are we doing about it. The idea is to think about ourselves, whether in terms of Bulleh Shah's philosophy or Marx's, as muslims or as some other identity, as Pakistanis or as people. For me most of us drift through life not deciding conscioulsy what we ought to be doing, whether in terms of our careers or as individual components of the world and i just do not mean that we do not apply ourself optimaly, we somehow let go of the conscious effort that is required to 'grow' into what each of us could possibly end up doing.

As far as his decision to quit goes, and while i may or may not agree with it, i would suggest that we not drag his gesture into a debate over whether 'good' people should stay in government jobs or not but to apply, for those of us who are in government jobs, to make these jobs good enough for 'any' good peoples and for others to reflect how they would deal with our predicaments and where such honest reflection lead them to.

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There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures. ~ William Shakespeare