Have We Got It Wrong?
Reflection on Progress, Presence, and the Illusion of Advancement
We often assume that progress is slow, that others need to “catch up”, that the West has somehow perfected the logic of advancement while the rest of the world wanders behind. But what if the real truth is far less comfortable?
What if we are the ones moving too fast to see clearly? What if progress is not slow but we are simply speeding past the lessons that matter?
This thought has been sitting with me, quietly and insistently, as I observe life through another cultural lens - one that is ancient, intact, unhurried, and deeply aware.
The World Through a Different Aperture
I have witnessed scenes that would bewilder many Westerners:
A goat sitting contently in the back seat of a car, not a dog, a goat.
Families of four or five balancing on a single scooter, weaving through traffic.
Cars and motorbikes travelling calmly in the “wrong” direction.
Three-lane roads naturally expanding into seven, as if by collective agreement.
Cows roaming freely, honoured as drivers navigate gently around them.
Laundry hanging openly from balconies, part of the landscape of daily life.
Buildings in visible need of repair, yet full of life.
People without homes asking for help, something we see in every major city across the world.
And through it all, there is no outrage. No frustration. No frantic energy.
There is instead a soft bow of the head, direct eye contact, a hand placed on the heart, a stranger recognising your existence. A gesture the West often forgets.
Even the honk of a horn carries no anger. It is simply communication: “I’m passing.”
The Illusion of Western Efficiency
In the West, we have been conditioned to prize aesthetics, convenience, and speed:
We glorify optimisation.
We celebrate disruption.
We chase novelty.
We idolise “hacks,” shortcuts, and quick fixes.
We call ancient practices “trends” only after a Western voice validates them. We rush toward innovation without questioning whether it truly improves our lives.
We read something once, hear it again, see it repeated and it becomes fact. Marketing outpaces meaning and influence outpaces integrity.
We rarely pause long enough to ask:
Is this actually true?
Is this actually better?
Is this actually human?
A Different Understanding of Intelligence
In many Eastern cultures, waking early is not a productivity hack. It is a relationship with the sunrise, a dialogue with the inner world, a practice held for centuries, not because it is fashionable, but because it is wise.
Eating is not fuel squeezed between meetings, it is metabolic nourishment aligned with the rhythm of the body, the season, and the climate.
Clothing is not optics, it is breathability, comfort, and respect for the body that carries us.
Ayurveda is not a trend, it is a worldview: A minute-by-minute conversation with life.
When Did We Stop Asking Questions?
Our ancestors did not teach through instruction manuals or six-step templates. They asked questions, shared lived experience, and they cultivated critical thought.
Somewhere along the way, we traded inquiry for efficiency. We replaced wisdom with information. We discarded ancient knowledge because it did not come packaged with data.
Yet, this knowledge has sustained civilisations, kept communities emotionally resilient, physically well, and spiritually connected long before wellness became an industry. Why do we dismiss what has endured?
Are We Mistaking Noise for Progress?
We celebrate speed, “scaling”, and constant reinvention.
But not everything needs to be fast or new or needs to become obsolete.
History has tried to teach us this yet, we keep ignoring it.
A Decade of Curiosity and a Realisation
For over ten years, I have explored cultures from the inside out - living, listening, observing, sitting on the ground instead of in conference rooms. But truly, this curiosity has lived in me for more than three decades.
I have learned that expansion rarely comes from logic alone. Logic comforts us; it gives structure to the Western mind but it also restrains us. It prevents exploration and rejects what is old even when the old has sustained people for centuries.
The greatest growth comes from the moments that make no sense on paper. From experiences that disrupt our assumptions. From cultures that remind us how human we really are.
So… Have We Got It Right?
I am no longer certain that we have.
If millions across the world live with gratitude, inner stillness, and daily practices that anchor mind, body, and spirit…
If joy is built into the rhythm of ordinary life…
If presence replaces performance…
If connection replaces convenience…
Then perhaps the question is not whether they have something to learn from us.
Perhaps the real question is this:
What have we forgotten? What have we overlooked? What wisdom have we dismissed in our pursuit of progress?
And courageously, we must ask ourselves:
Have we truly got it right or is it time to slow down and finally see the world, and ourselves, through a different lens?