Adam left behind three of his kind:
The mendicants
The pleasure seekers
The 'out of the box' happy lot
And believe me: All of them are happy in their own way.
Of these three groups, the first two are within the box thinkers though they would love to believe otherwise. There is nothing new in renouncing the world to seek happiness. We have very prominent examples. Ashoka, Buddha, Mahavira, Jesus Christ, Guru Nanak and the very many out of the box thinkers and spiritual gurus who spawned religions and cultures through their way of life. Doing something like that is no longer out of the box. People have been there; done that.
History is full of pleasure seekers. The Pharaohs of Egypt to Bill Clinton: all people who have been there; done that.
What fascinates me is the last group: The ‘out of the box happy’ lot. And why do I call them that ?
Because they are so much ‘out of the box’ that they are so full of themselves. They can’t see beyond their own personal tragedies and sorrows. Not just that they refuse to make any attempt at trying to come out of it, they resist any attempt at anyone trying to help them out. They revel in their sorrow.
With due respect to human pain and tragedy, every human undergoes some pain or tragedy in his/her life. The curse that befell Adam is on all of us. Adam, however,learnt to fight and create his own world.
But these ‘out of the box happy’ people are a stickler for sympathy. They want the world to sympathise with them. They believe that their husbands,their wives, their children, their teachers, their officers, their staff or anyone they interact with is out to harm them and hurt them. The world is an uncaring place where God has let loose the worst serpents on them.
Reach out with a sympathising hand and they will demand your shoulder to cry on. Crying is the best way of purgation. But they will cry and cry till not just your shoulder but your soul would be drenched.
Give a solution to their problem and you will be accused of being a part of God’s uncaring creation.
Make them laugh and you will be accused of being a clown and juggling their feelings.
Show them a practical way to tackle life and you will be accused of being pragmatic.
Time and again you will be reminded how you are a cold hearted, matter-of –fact ,hard headed, worthless friend who cannot be depended on to squeeze out that one ounce of sympathy that they deserve.
Give me Ashoka and Clinton any day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 comments:
Nice one! I think it stems out of insecurity. I know I am insufficient, it's too much hard work to rise above the challenge...better to blame other people, events etc.
Yes, as a person on the other side, Ashoka and Clinton it is! :)
'Pandora’s box' happy
We are not happy with Pandora for opening Quicksilver’s box and letting out all kinds of woe and worry in this world. But those who you anoint as the ‘out of the box happy’ lot, swear by Pandora for opening the box. They will cry for the sake of crying and cry for the sake of eliciting public sympathy and cry to be the centre of all attention. They are woefully woe- loving. They’d cry ooh[!] when there is not even a woe that we haven’t turned down with a boo. What can we do then to help them?
Let us not try to advise or suggest any solution to their problems because they do not want problems and difficult situations to go away from their life. Their attitude and mind set is differently programmed. Unlike you and I who analyse a problem, comprehend it and find out a solution, the ‘out of the box’ type ENJOY falling into trouble [sometimes even knowingly] and then again cry and lament at their wretched state. If you go to solve their problem, which is their ultimate source of pain and tears [and therefore their kind of pleasure,] they will have nothing left to cry about. Do you think they will accept that? Never. So let us not try to help our masochist friends. We’d lose them or else.
I enjoyed your unique observation. Do continue to give us food for thought!
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