Nature

I recently scrapped skin off my thumb knuckle while grating cheese for pasta. It stung at first and I could see the bone. The cut was about 5 mm long. Why am I writing about getting scrapped? Well, after washing the cut, I saw how blood oozed out and covered up the wound. Then it coagulated and formed a protective cover. I was just awestruck by the way we work. Not that I haven’t seen this behaviour before, but I guess when you live on your own, you pay more attention and the fact that nobody is around to make a big fuss about it, as parents and siblings usually do.

It’s interesting to see tangible and involuntary activity. The speed with which the sensors send signals to the brain, the spontaneous reaction of the brain to a problem, the implementation of a certain plan to fix the problem and continuous checking of progress or healing, all done quietly within the confines of our bodies.

We can be so sensitive and yet so strong. This juxtaposition always makes me smile. Marvellous.

People

We can be quite mean, uncaring, spiteful, uncivil, ignorant and unkind. We can let small things get in the way of being good friends and being happy. We stew over actions and statements, thinking and re-thinking, ‘why did they do this, what did they mean?’

Some might isolate a person just because they don’t like them. Or perhaps they feel jealous or find them annoying or have nothing in common. I wish people were more forgiving or gave people the benefit of doubt. It’s natural to be doubtful and judgmental. But those doubts and snap judgments should not cloud ones ability to take in the character of an individual and get to know them better.

Well if you still can’t stand them, don’t just blank them and not communicate. Be civil.

Everyone has the power to accommodate; you don’t have to change anything about yourself to be accommodating. It just involves having a big mind and a big heart.

Rigidity

People, they can be so rigid and fixed in their ways. We only live once, so why be so uncaring and judgemental. Why pigeon hole people. Why get fixed with one notion and repeat that over and over again. I guess its human nature to do so. It’s easy to follow one idea. It’s easier to process information if we box people and experiences. But then don’t let those boxed thoughts cloud your intake of new information. What is the point of gaining new knowledge if you don’t look at it with an unbiased and clear perspective?

I myself am guilty of stereotyping, but I would like to think that I give things a second chance or for that matter a third chance. I keep an open mind. I try and absorb life around me with minimum bias and preconceptions.

As Arthur C. Clarke stated ‘the only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible’. A questioning and inquisitive mind can help do that. How do you induce a questioning and inquisitive mind? Keep rigidity at bay.