It is impossible to go online and stick to looking for what you want. It is like going a toy store, you just cannot not wander away and Facebook is turning out to be an unlikely destination. Moving beyond the usual "who is dating whom" stories, there are some very interesting pages that I have 'liked' (mostly pertaining to history, environment, literature and science ) that indeed add a much needed depth to the content on this 'social networking' site. Well, at the least we can pretend we are not simply whiling our time away. ( it works - 'like' one of these smart pages and read a couple of their posts, you will not feel as wasted as you would by liking pictures and tagging people on 'I love you' posts).
So, on one of these browsing hours, I came across the above picture. Really deep, something worth thinking about. Rains do that, they encourage you to look away into a distant, non-existent spot and think. So I thought. And I realized, this is true. Like, not just because John Lubbock said it, but actually true!
Sometime ago, when I was reading Lolita (you can find a review of the book in an earlier post), I came across the word 'harlot'. Now, I didn't know what it meant, but because it is impossible to read that book without understanding each word, I looked it up. And, keeping aside it's meaning, the next thing I know, I was reading it everywhere. Friends were using it in their abusive bits and there was a mention of it in a couple of articles I read. Wow. It is as if the entire universe knew I had just learnt its meaning. Or maybe not.
Before that, I was doing a course called "Know Thyself'" - on philosophy. I came across the word 'cognitive' - in its practical meaning and application. And, just like it was to happen with 'harlot', everyone suddenly seemed to be using it. It seemed as if my professors too had just learnt the word.
This is when I realized something - we only see, what we know, and we only look out for what we already know - maybe to boost our ego by feeling knowledgeable, or perhaps our brains are wired that way - the reason is largely irrelevant. Some of you who read this may remember the confrontation scene of Sanjay Dutt a.ka. Munna in Lage Raho Munnabhai, where he speaks to the press about 'seeing the Mahatma".
I thought I was a very curious person by nature - inquisitive, always wanting to learn more and more. Doesn't look like I am doing a very good job of it. And it has to change. It is time, I and anyone else who has a narrow cognitive perspective as mine, must correct this.
To open up to all the little wonders of life, seek to discover something new everyday. Not turn away lazily from a challenge, or the unknown. If you don't understand something, learn it. Let's remove the barriers that surround our minds, to reach out to everything around us and make it a part of our consciousness. Because, to overlook details, to stop wondering and asking questions and seeking answers, to stop inquiring and learning is indeed a cardinal sin - for then, you chose to be ignorant. You chose to understand lesser than you can, you chose to a life of stagnancy. And by being so passive, you allow the good things to pass by. The beautiful, surreal moments - be it of tears or laughter or a mix of both - will never be yours.
We could start with small steps at a time, one new thing a day. It could be anything - the real story behind a rumor, the origin of a word. Learn a new recipe or use a different shade of color for your painting, use a different style of playing football or (since Sachin and his retirement is so in news) a new cricketing shot. Do anything but repeat. Keep pushing those boundaries (pun, intended). Change, transform, evolve - add as many colors to your life as you can. True joy lies in collecting everything around you and sharing and spreading it further - like a famed, wandering bard - who takes one new experience and spreads it elsewhere and in the process, gains something more again. Beware of everything, whether you absorb or filter it, and see you your days suddenly seem brighter, full of the sunshine that a new day, a new experience, a new adventure brings, no matter how insignificant it seems at first. And this is how some of us will find magic - like that of your first kiss, or your first report card with straight A's, the date when you met 'him' or even the date you got "done with him for good". It would be very dull to have a monotonous life, so why let a single day pass by idly?
Like the quote I read on another one of these happy hours - "How you pass your day is how you will live you life"
Content and complacent or adventurous and exciting? The answer lies in our hands.
I believe there are many more pleasurable opportunities ahead for individuals that looked at your site. natures-way
ReplyDelete