 |
| Uploaded from http://unsplash.com |
The
child is created in love and is totally self expressive and truthful.
It
expresses its needs by laughing , crying and being honest about his likes and
dislikes.
He
is clear of WHO HE IS and does not need any label, status symbol or degree to
reconfirm or prove that. He just revels in the moment and is totally himself, with everyone around...no discrimination there.
As
the child grows up to be an adult , he starts noticing the “what’s” of life : Money , Status,
Class, Education, Power : he starts
using these to identify self … ‘I am richer than my friend’, ‘I am from South
Bombay and my father is a rich businessman,’ ‘My degree from Harvard shows that
I am superior to others..’ etc. and this goes on and on as no acquisition is
complete in filling the void of adequacy…
The
journey becomes an exercise of proving how good he is, how much better off than
friend/neighbor/siblings….External symbols, qualifications, holidays, material possessions become the props to
define WHAT HE IS in life.
He
begins cheating, lying, comparing , showing off , networking to become
something that he is not...love and truth which defined his simple existence,
get tossed out of the window!
The
person who was content being himself feels lost if he does not have ‘x’ number
of contacts in his linkedin profile , is not seen holidaying in an exotic location or if he does not get invited to the most
“happening’ party in town. His worth is measured by whether he is a
vice-president of a multinational company jetsetting across the globe or an
ordinary middle-class citizen travelling by train.
If
I reflect back on my life
I can clearly see how I have moved away from WHO I WAS to WHAT ALL DO I POSSESS ? I have defined myself with what I possess, how well is my husband doing in his career and can I project that well to my friends, how I am better off/worse off than many of my friends, how I need to buy another something expensive to make my friends envy me.
I can clearly see how I have moved away from WHO I WAS to WHAT ALL DO I POSSESS ? I have defined myself with what I possess, how well is my husband doing in his career and can I project that well to my friends, how I am better off/worse off than many of my friends, how I need to buy another something expensive to make my friends envy me.
Many
a moment has been spent in anguish and jealousy when I have made this
comparison and joined this race.
Today
I ask my self : Why do I need something outside of me to define me?
Stripped
of all the trappings/symbols/possessions which define me : WHO AM I but warmth and love and existence!
No comments:
Post a Comment