The Unknown

 I was in the hormonally enraged, all knowing - god complex age of 16. I had good grades; I was top in my extra-curricular activities, traveling the state and nation for different competitions. Life was good for me… as an individual. As for my social life? That’s where the problem was. Don’t get me wrong! My friends were nowhere near being classified as the “wrong crowd”. They were all good in their academics and quite a number were also well inclined in the extra-curricular activities in school. The problem was simple. Not many could understand me.  I constantly felt dismayed that they couldn’t see things the way I saw them. So much so, that the bond was slowly waning away. 

I had had somehow successfully programmed myself to feel uncomfortable with my surroundings. Uncomfortable with my friends for not being “serious” enough, uncomfortable by the lack of “maturity” in certain teachers, uncomfortable by the “affection” some girls were portraying, etc. And naturally I kept it within and let it manifest. One fine day, while I was talking to a teacher of mine, the cork that was keeping all these “feelings” bottled within decided to burst open and without much hesitation I divulged all that I felt uncomfortable about. And she listened patiently (enough) to everything I had to say. 

After I had completed my ranting, she asked “So, you want to change the world, based on your ideals, so that it is “comfortable” for everyone to live in?” For which I said “YES! Wouldn’t things be better and more orderly that way?” And she said “Maybe for you, yes. Tell me, have you tried to perhaps change yourself?” For which I blatantly asked, “Why should I change? Shouldn’t people accept me for who I am?!” For which she smiled and asked “why should the world change? Shouldn’t you accept them for who they are?” For which I humbly replied “WOW! That’s a bitch slap!” and she went “LANGUAGE YOUNG MAN!” But the lesson was well learnt.

 

She went on to say that the change she meant was not a revamp of my character or behavior, but rather my perception of things. She said “change your perception and you will see the world changing before you. Grow to accept things – it makes life worth it!” I guess I was privileged to have such wisdom imparted to me at such an age. Taking her advice, I decided to look at things in a different light. And to my surprise, I did see the world changing in front of me. The “not so serious” nature of my friends enabled them to have the best of their youth and made them creative as they weren’t mentally conformed to the social rigidity. The “lack of maturity” shown by certain teachers was actually a conscious effort of the teachers to bridge the gap between students and teachers, which created a support system within the school that helped reduce social problems. The “affection” shown by the girls was simply because they were comfortable to talk and confide to a guy who was mature enough and not an utter jerk which earned me their respect and a wonderful lineup of cheerleaders for the competitions I went for (and I TRIED to not let it get to my head). Eventually, I learnt that, when a person is willing to change his perception, he develops the willingness to learn. And when he develops this willingness to learn, he then would grow to notice the opportunities that are around him. And when he grows to notice these opportunities, his is the world and everything that’s in it as he would learn to accept things for what they truly are. 

This idea/philosophy/smoking-weed-talk can be reflected in almost everything we do. As change is the only thing that is constant in our lives, not wanting to understand these changes would leave any individual to decay in his path, becoming “worthless” to the current world. When we shed some economic or financial light onto this ideology, we see that change of perspectives and the fluidity of the mind are quintessential when dealing with the current economic climate. Conforming to the old line of thoughts has come to be very costly to many nations. The fear of the unknown has left many first world countries crippled while the ones who took the effort to know the unknown have started to emerge as formidable entities in the global economy. 

So, try having a new perspective on life; change your outlook on things. It really doesn’t cost you a thing…. But you might just have something valuable to gain! If you think education is costly, try ignorance…

Prepared by,

Ashveen Chakravarthy Sekaran

22^nd March 2012