Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Let me tell you right at the outset that I have some definite, particular, and strong opinions on a whole host of topics. On historical events, current trends, and many many isms—like feudalism, feminism, or capitalism, for instance. 

Let me share another not-so-unknown secret. Almost everyone who chose journalism as a career has an origin story where they commit to a worldview that is a bit meta, which then leads to hours of futile debates with acquaintances, friends, and family. 

The result is that the meta view becomes even stronger, and to some, even turning into a fount of purpose and a guiding principle. 

One of the most frustrating things that happens when we start doing journalism for a living, however, is that we’re given a rude awakening. Our editors waste no time in telling us that nobody really cares about what meta opinions we might hold, on any subject. Life or death, politics or economics, what we are trained to pitch are specific, newsy, and detailed pieces. 

Think of all the scenes when protagonists in shows like The Newsroom or Inventing Anna feel stupid and lost after losing a passionate argument with their editor. 

So that’s what I was doing this week, looking for unique/specific takes (the way my training emphasised) on mental health in India as the world commemorated World Mental Health Day on 10 October. 

But what I decided to write for you, instead, is a meta-story. More specifically, one that came out of Monday’s Lancet Citizens’ Commission webinar on mental health.

The topic was WHO’s theme for this year’s mental health day, and it’s as ‘meta’ as you can get—Make mental health & well-being for all a global priority. 

That’s a world very different from the one we exist in right now. And while the webinar did break down the grand narrative into specific bits, it kept its focus on a fresh overarching ambitious purpose. 

Let’s see how. 

The making of a utopia

I don’t know if you noticed, but this year’s theme begins with the word ‘make’. That’s not ‘monitor’, ‘treat’, or ‘imagine’. It doesn’t cut a nice convenient slice out of a huge problem to look at. 

And the premise is ambitious. It goes beyond just health, and into well-being—which isn’t just a body free from disease. Well-being is a concept that’s much broader. A life spent breathing fresh air.