There is no doubt that I like writing short stories. I shape those stories with the help of my life experiences. Probably that's the way fictional sketches are created. I am no exception. I am always interested in people. I meet them and have detailed conversations about many diverse topics - fitness, politics, relationships, religion, science etc. By digging deeper into their personalities I find multiple layers. I try not to judge them. We humans are incredible creatures of the nature. We have so much inside us that we are not even aware of. Anyway, these interactions with the people help me to frame the characters of my stories, assist me to look inside and evolve. Most people I've come across miss one simple yet very important characteristic -- PERSPECTIVE. That's the topic of my blog today. I try to give you some real life instances I've personally come across.
The literal meaning of PERSPECTIVE is "a particular attitude towards anything", but it's true meaning, in my opinion, is a way deeper than this. I think it's the most essential and basic personality trait anyone should have.
My self-understanding of perspective laid on a foundation of TWO simple yet so powerful facts.
1. Our Earth is the only living planet in the universe, we know.
2. Our Earth is approximately 450 crores (4.5 billion) years old and a human life is somewhere close to 80 years. If I simply scale it down, if our Earth is 1 year old then we simply die within a fraction of a second. There have been millions of people, like us, who lived and died here. No matter how intelligent, famous, rich and fit they were, they died within a fraction of second.
No matter how you perceive them, these are simple scientific facts.
These facts shouldn't be misunderstood like my niece jokingly responded "Okay. If that's how it is, I would relax my whole life - No to Study, No to Job, and No Marriage. In short, No Problem". I chuckled with her. This interpretation is both child-like and foolish.
What must be learnt from the two facts -- You are LUCKY that you are HERE and still ALIVE. It's an opportunity to live this life to the FULLEST. It may end anytime. You lose your valuable time if you become SAD, ANGRY, EGOISTIC, LAZY, SELF-CENTERED etc. You lose an opportunity if you blindly follow others. We humans have evolved by sharing knowledge, learning from others, helping each other and showing care, respect and love. That's perspective.
Now, as I promised, I give you some real life examples on people losing perspective and what could they have opted otherwise.
1. Mr. A once said " I left my job and started real-estate business. The reason is simple. I want to earn a bank balance of 2.5 million rupees in the next 3 years." He was so obsessed for this particular goal that he worked round the clock and run all other things (relationship, health etc.) on an auto-pilot mode.
Perspective -- I wondered what if he died within a year and missed all other opportunities he could have with his family and friends. What if he balanced work and life.
2. Mr. B got very angry at the waiter just because the dish, he ordered, was very salty. He shouted. The waiter shook. The manager rushed to them and changed the dish immediately. He felt pride so did his children. The kids interpreted that's how our world functions. DOMINATE others by any means.
Perspective -- What if he softly related the matter. He might have responded something like "Excuse me, the dish is very salty and uneatable. Can you please replace it?" No matter the waiter had replaced the dish or not (worst case - he ordered a new dish of worth 150 bucks), Mr. B would have spread very positive energy and taught a great lesson to his children.
3. Mr. C became sad because he failed in a particular national level entrance exam for premier engineering colleges. He was down for nearly 6 months because the things turned out opposite of what he ideally planned. For a very long time, he lost focus and almost stopped working in any direction. In short, he lost perspective.
Perspective -- What if he looked life as a whole -- the bigger picture. What if he understood that's the nature of life. It's simply a mix of failures and successes. Successes take you a way forward, sometimes that much you can't predict. Failures give you an opportunity to reflect, to analyze, to correct and to go forward with a new strategy.
Sometimes people become sad when failures and expectations from the peers coincide. The people are often affected by the expectations (self, family or society) because they take them so seriously. Why to do that! That's perspective.
4. Mr. D is accumulating a lot of wealth, no matter how. He buys the best phone, owns the most luxurious car and builds a perfect house for his family. He has way more than his family's survival yet he complains about many things he doesn't have. This is similar to what I have personally come across. I hardly find people who are happy and satisfied with their jobs. Go to leading surveys, you will find astonishing statistics about people not liking their jobs.
Mr. D often says that he hardly meets his family's survival needs. Many people like Mr. D often tell me -- Having a number of materialistic things are their basic survival needs. They can't function without a car. They want to own a house, no matter they live there or not. They want to secure their future more than their present. I think that's the ultimate case of losing perspective.
Perspective -- What if he spends sometime in the underprivileged areas, he will understand what the survival is -- Food, Shelter and Clothes. The children don't have education. They dropout from schools and find means to earn money faster. What if they are misguided and become a threat for our society including you.
A Better Perspective -- What if we choose experiences (education, travel, art etc.) over acquisition of the materialistic things (house, car etc.).
5. Mr. E, Ms. F and many other like them share their personal lives on social media. They share where they go, what they watch and who they hang out with. Why? To get the certificates (likes and comments) from others that they have fantastic lives. I did the same once. Its the craving for social acceptance that drive people to do that. Go and you will find enough literature on people using social media.
Perspective -- What if they look inside instead of looking outwards. Because when they look outward, they compare and fail to understand the concept of life as a personal journey. When they look inward, they excel because they would know what they truly want. They would know their strengths and weaknesses. They would know where to go, how to excel and chase your dreams. It's just YOU and YOU. There would be no room for expectations and social certifications. Of course, this journey will be complemented by your partners (parents, friends, spouse, children etc.) but its your roadmap.
The list can be very long. Just go somewhere and observe people closely. People are losing perspective like anything. It's not about teaching them but its about learning from them what not to do. I believe if more and more people get the perspective, it will spread. It has the potential to change our present and the future of coming generations.
The literal meaning of PERSPECTIVE is "a particular attitude towards anything", but it's true meaning, in my opinion, is a way deeper than this. I think it's the most essential and basic personality trait anyone should have.
My self-understanding of perspective laid on a foundation of TWO simple yet so powerful facts.
1. Our Earth is the only living planet in the universe, we know.
2. Our Earth is approximately 450 crores (4.5 billion) years old and a human life is somewhere close to 80 years. If I simply scale it down, if our Earth is 1 year old then we simply die within a fraction of a second. There have been millions of people, like us, who lived and died here. No matter how intelligent, famous, rich and fit they were, they died within a fraction of second.
No matter how you perceive them, these are simple scientific facts.
These facts shouldn't be misunderstood like my niece jokingly responded "Okay. If that's how it is, I would relax my whole life - No to Study, No to Job, and No Marriage. In short, No Problem". I chuckled with her. This interpretation is both child-like and foolish.
What must be learnt from the two facts -- You are LUCKY that you are HERE and still ALIVE. It's an opportunity to live this life to the FULLEST. It may end anytime. You lose your valuable time if you become SAD, ANGRY, EGOISTIC, LAZY, SELF-CENTERED etc. You lose an opportunity if you blindly follow others. We humans have evolved by sharing knowledge, learning from others, helping each other and showing care, respect and love. That's perspective.
Now, as I promised, I give you some real life examples on people losing perspective and what could they have opted otherwise.
1. Mr. A once said " I left my job and started real-estate business. The reason is simple. I want to earn a bank balance of 2.5 million rupees in the next 3 years." He was so obsessed for this particular goal that he worked round the clock and run all other things (relationship, health etc.) on an auto-pilot mode.
Perspective -- I wondered what if he died within a year and missed all other opportunities he could have with his family and friends. What if he balanced work and life.
2. Mr. B got very angry at the waiter just because the dish, he ordered, was very salty. He shouted. The waiter shook. The manager rushed to them and changed the dish immediately. He felt pride so did his children. The kids interpreted that's how our world functions. DOMINATE others by any means.
Perspective -- What if he softly related the matter. He might have responded something like "Excuse me, the dish is very salty and uneatable. Can you please replace it?" No matter the waiter had replaced the dish or not (worst case - he ordered a new dish of worth 150 bucks), Mr. B would have spread very positive energy and taught a great lesson to his children.
3. Mr. C became sad because he failed in a particular national level entrance exam for premier engineering colleges. He was down for nearly 6 months because the things turned out opposite of what he ideally planned. For a very long time, he lost focus and almost stopped working in any direction. In short, he lost perspective.
Perspective -- What if he looked life as a whole -- the bigger picture. What if he understood that's the nature of life. It's simply a mix of failures and successes. Successes take you a way forward, sometimes that much you can't predict. Failures give you an opportunity to reflect, to analyze, to correct and to go forward with a new strategy.
Sometimes people become sad when failures and expectations from the peers coincide. The people are often affected by the expectations (self, family or society) because they take them so seriously. Why to do that! That's perspective.
4. Mr. D is accumulating a lot of wealth, no matter how. He buys the best phone, owns the most luxurious car and builds a perfect house for his family. He has way more than his family's survival yet he complains about many things he doesn't have. This is similar to what I have personally come across. I hardly find people who are happy and satisfied with their jobs. Go to leading surveys, you will find astonishing statistics about people not liking their jobs.
Mr. D often says that he hardly meets his family's survival needs. Many people like Mr. D often tell me -- Having a number of materialistic things are their basic survival needs. They can't function without a car. They want to own a house, no matter they live there or not. They want to secure their future more than their present. I think that's the ultimate case of losing perspective.
Perspective -- What if he spends sometime in the underprivileged areas, he will understand what the survival is -- Food, Shelter and Clothes. The children don't have education. They dropout from schools and find means to earn money faster. What if they are misguided and become a threat for our society including you.
A Better Perspective -- What if we choose experiences (education, travel, art etc.) over acquisition of the materialistic things (house, car etc.).
5. Mr. E, Ms. F and many other like them share their personal lives on social media. They share where they go, what they watch and who they hang out with. Why? To get the certificates (likes and comments) from others that they have fantastic lives. I did the same once. Its the craving for social acceptance that drive people to do that. Go and you will find enough literature on people using social media.
Perspective -- What if they look inside instead of looking outwards. Because when they look outward, they compare and fail to understand the concept of life as a personal journey. When they look inward, they excel because they would know what they truly want. They would know their strengths and weaknesses. They would know where to go, how to excel and chase your dreams. It's just YOU and YOU. There would be no room for expectations and social certifications. Of course, this journey will be complemented by your partners (parents, friends, spouse, children etc.) but its your roadmap.
The list can be very long. Just go somewhere and observe people closely. People are losing perspective like anything. It's not about teaching them but its about learning from them what not to do. I believe if more and more people get the perspective, it will spread. It has the potential to change our present and the future of coming generations.
It's really good! :)
ReplyDeleteThe best till now from your pen.
ReplyDeleteWonderful 😊😊
ReplyDelete