Dale Carnegie gave us the parable of the two men who
looked out from prison bars. “One saw the mud, the other saw stars.” What we
see is often our choice. We can choose to see the mud or we can choose to look
at the sky.
There was once a man who had a dog.
He used a strategy for bathing the dog. He would take the dog to the river and
throw a ball into the river. Being trained to fetch the ball whenever it was
thrown, the dog would jump into the river too and fetch the ball. That swimming
would be the dog’s bath. But one day the dog sprang a surprise. When the master
threw the ball, the dog, instead of swimming, walked on the water to fetch it.
The master was surprised. He threw the ball once again and the dog walked on
water again. Maybe, it was an evolutionary step in the dog’s life.
The master wanted to show off this to
his neighbour. So he asked his neighbour to accompany him to the river. The
ball was thrown and the dog fetched it by walking on the river. The neighbour
made no reaction. It was as if nothing extraordinary had happened. The man
repeated the exercise. Still no reaction from the neighbour.
“Didn’t you notice anything special
about my dog?” The man asked.
“Yeah, the silly creature doesn’t
know how to swim.” That was the neighbour’s response.
The neighbour’s perceptions were
conditioned as are most people’s. A dog had to swim if it entered into a river.
Otherwise, it is a silly creature.
We have certain built-in notions
which affect most of our perceptions and judgements. Many of these notions may
be plainly wrong. Hence our perceptions and judgements will be wrong too. We
fail to see miracles that actually happen around us.
Some 2000 years ago, Greek
philosopher Epictetus said, “People are disturbed not by events, but by the
views they take of them.” Our ‘views’ are conditioned by our inbuilt notions. Our
emotional responses are the consequences of the interaction between the event
that happens and our notions or beliefs about them. Life can be a lot sweeter
if we keep checking our inbuilt notions/beliefs every now and then.
PS. This post is part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023
Yesterday's: Authenticity
Tomorrow: Capitalism is fated to be sad
Yes, sometimes we choose to see the glass as half empty rather than half full.Good one.
ReplyDeleteHow we see matters more sometimes than what we see.
DeleteWow! I really liked the analogy about the Dog. Perception as you say is very different for different people. When we are born we have no preconceptions about anything and our minds see things as they are. But life creates prejudices and we start perceiving things as per our views.
ReplyDeleteSome prejudices are understandable. But most people seem to have only prejudices.
DeleteThis is true….it is the way u perceive things…it’s like the number 6 to those who look at the number upside down sees the number 9…they can argue all day that it’s a 9 and not a six until they change their perspective on their view. Life is based on perception and YOU chose your perception.
ReplyDeleteReality is a lot more complex, however, than 6 vs 9.
DeleteI was just reading a movie dialogue that said I choose to fight by seeing the good and you choose to fight by seeing the ugly. In the end we're both trying to survive but your way is not "better". The dog story was so good!
ReplyDeleteThe dog story is adapted from Tony d'Mello.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteAh yes, perceptions and perspective; so much a part of any narrative! YAM xx
So much! Yes, that's it.
DeleteYep. So many factors condition us to the world around us. Self censoring is a constant state of mind, till it isn't...
ReplyDeleteOops, the above was me! Don't know how that happened 😅
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling it's you :) Anonymity is associated with cowardice.
DeleteSelf-censoring is a painful affair especially in a world of frauds. I know I'm being judgemental when I speak about frauds. But tragically I see too many of them around me. Not only in politics. Alas!
Reaction and judgement.
ReplyDeleteYes, response should come instead of reaction. Judiciousness instead of judgement. Let's hope.
DeleteGood one!
ReplyDeleteThanks
DeleteBeautifully summed up about how we can change our state of mind by looking inwards !
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it.
DeleteI love how this is explained. Yes, that is the beauty of life, how you perceive it. Isn't it strange that two people look at the same things differently. And I also love what your first letter A was authenticity! So was mine :)
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have quite a few things in common 😊
DeleteThis post reminded me of the time we went appartment hunting. The appartment was on 19th floor and had lovely views of the sea. But hubby's colleague who also saw the appartment, didnt stretch his eyes until the horizon...his eyes fell directly down where there was a graveyard. :) ...like you said...perception...I saw the horizon, he saw the graveyard
ReplyDeleteYou've given me a point to ponder on, Harshita. I have always wondered how the Ambanis live happily in their Antilia which towers like a vulgar palace amid residences that don't even have proper water supply. Maybe, your hubby's colleague had a point. Still.. I'm thinking.
DeleteWell put. I see that kids are unconditioned and their sense of wonder helps see beauty in everything than us, the adults with so much conditioning. And parenting has helped me to some extent to unlearn and have better perceptions & perspectives.
ReplyDeleteYes, parents and teachers can do a lot in this regard.
DeleteYeah, there are some people, as the man in your story, who boasts about the stupid things and expects the same from others. It's difficult to deal with them. I try hard these days not to respond to them for the sake of peace.
ReplyDeleteSome people are best at a distance, no doubt.
DeleteShowing off the dog 's ability to walk on water is also borne out of flawed perception. A perception which instigates us to flaunt and secure fame even at the expense odour loved ones. I presume here that the dog was loved by his master.
ReplyDeleteParables are highly focused on their morals. This wasn't about the showoff.
DeleteOur ‘views’ are conditioned by our inbuilt notions. 👏🏻💯
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the only way available now. Unfortunately.
Delete