Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Strength and Acceptance

Man ,essentially a social animal lives life through multiple relationships-some by blood and some by choice. Needless to say ,Parents,children, siblings fall in the blood relation catagory where as Friends, spouse ,partners, work companions etc sort of fall in the choice one.It is amazing though that most of the blood relationships end up being longer terms than the choice ones.How?Do they match better?But they are so full of differences. So how do they survive better than the ones we claim to choose ourselves? How is it that we nurture our blood relations inspite of numerous differences and refuse to tolerate the same or even some fraction of it in our other relationships?

The reason is ACCEPTANCE. We take them to be already ours and so find it difficult to let them go where as in the ones of our choice we look for IDEALISM.  We want things in our partners that are absent in our own blood relations . The total absence in one is completely acceptable,where it is a prerequisite in other.We love some with all his /her shortcomings, bur deplore the same in others. Why do we practise such double standards?

I ,personally prefer ACCEPTANCE  over IDEALISM, for I believe Life is all about shaping it with your own hands to the best of your own capability,within your resources,rather than spending most of the life in trying to find the ideal resources. Acceptance gives life a direction ,otherwise it may just be too many colours splashed over the canvas without any formation or meaning.It needs strength to build with what ever you have and so you always cling to it, nurture it.

I just read a poem 'I sit and look out' by Walt Whitman.The poet claims to be an individualistic. He presents himself as an observer-a silent observer to all the problems and miseries of mankind that he sees around. He admits to have not done anything about it and hence does not want to preach.But what is the use of being an observer if it is a silent one? What is the point of having the sensitivity to feel misery of others  yet be inactive to do something to lessen the same?

Anything that we have has value only if put to use,else is meaningless.The joy of shaping our own life makes it precious and indeed is unparalleled. All we need is the conviction of self and faith in the good.That gives us the resiliense and belief to make life beautiful.