I am always fully captivated by the wealth of wisdom to be gained from Eckart Tolle’s New York Times bestseller book, A New Earth. This powerful book, which reflects deeply on how to transcend our ego- based level of consciousness, left a deep impression on me. One particular line out of many great lines which in a sense summarizes the essence of the book is, “If we live in a society which to a large extent equates self-worth to how much and what you have and you cannot see beyond this collective delusion you will be condemned to chasing after things for the rest of your life in hopes of finding your worth and completion of selves there”.

In our society, there is a deeply perpetuated value system that is designed to make people believe that “I have more than you, so I am better than you”. When one feels that he or she never has enough, the ego creates a deep sense of emptiness, dissatisfaction, anxiety and unhappiness. Any perceived lack of material possessions can make people feel like life is never enough as is. Consequently, such thinking drives many to seek excessive material possessions, titles, positions, property, power and fame in the search to elevate their self-worth not only in their own eyes, but in the eyes of others. That is why, even the rich are never satisfied and can, in fact, be greedily addicted to acquiring more wealth. In our Belizean society and many other societies, the economy is shaped in a way to keep people craving for more in order to bolster those egos that crave for more and are never satisfied.

I say all this to say that when I see the decades of rampant acts of corruption, nepotism, bribery, and embezzlement at all levels of our society, it reminds me of a deeper dissatisfaction that we all have within ourselves which makes us always crave for more. As a young Belizean, I am particularly annoyed when I see how for many decades, rampant corruption occurs in Belize, with government officials usually being paid off under the table for the transfer of public resources. This practice where officials and their cronies enrich themselves from public funds is a festering cancer in our society, which stifles our national growth. Many Belizeans, especially the youths, are frustrated and angry to think about how much better off Belize could have been if it wasn’t for greed, corruption — essentially the “selling out” of our country for the enrichment of a few friends and family while the masses become further impoverished.

Those with more resources, power, fame and status are generally highly regarded by other members of society for their superficial possessions, which quite often supersede or mask the importance of strong character. Public servants who come into office with the intention to steal from the public purse are operating on dysfunctional and destructive ego-based desires. Stealing in order to gain more as a way to bolster the ego to appear successful and important, is bound to have its karmic effect. The timeless age- old wise command that “Thou shalt not steal” was never a frivolous rule for life. While those who steal appear to prosper with their false sense of superiority, their own delusions will catch up sooner or later. It is dangerous for the country when those in power look down on the masses because the opinion of people matters less to them. This is dangerous for democracy and prosperity. The urgent challenge that Belize faces is to nurture leaders who can build solid character and conscience that resist greed and its resulting acts of stealing, corruption, lying, unjust enrichment and nepotism.

Even though George Price was not perfect, he is considered a great leader and a national hero, not just for his ability to inspire, but for his outstanding character. When I think of Mr. Price, I admire greatly his humility, his simplicity, and his inner detachment from material wealth and attention. Although he was not considered by some as squeaky clean, since nobody is perfect, his exemplary character is an example of what officials need in this country. George Price gave more of himself than he took from others and the country. Our country needs leaders who are not seeking to amass wealth from the public purse for themselves and their families and who are instead looking to genuinely serve the people.

The level of humility that Mr. Price possesses, so much so that his position or money or superficial things didn’t get to his head, is a level that I believe we should all strive to attain. Since most people may never reach the level of self-actualization where their desire to serve supersedes their egotistical desire for self-aggrandizement, a strong system of checks and balances is urgently needed in our public service. The creation of an airtight, accountable and transparent system at every level of Ministries and government departments should be aimed at preventing the temptation to use public office to enrich self, cronies and relatives, with public resources. Could rigid compliance to UNCAC (United Nations Convention Against Corruption) be a step towards that direction?