We learn from everything. Learning is like the cycle of life - it never ends. We learn from experiences, from others, from mistakes, from others' mistakes and virtually every other thing (i know how useless this statement was, but just that the things mentioned deserved a separate mention!). Just a factor which makes me wonder... though learning from experiences is indeed one of the best things one can derive, still unless a bad experience faced or a mistake committed, you cannot learn from them. Being somewhat concerned about consequences of our actions might make us conservative but balancing it out with carpe diem is something which is the divine word. Extremes of either can screw things badly. To gain stability and ensure the prevention of anything going bad in future, one does need to either face conservatism or if not then go with the instincts and face whatever future has to offer us! As I always ponder on the perpetual uncertainity of the future, it is also amazing how certain particular events can create huge differences in life and how certain other events can negate them, just that one should find and utilize such events. However it might appeal to different people's subjectivity, but in each and every thing, there are equal pros and equal cons. It's just how we take it to be.
Certain such events which happened to me, very varied events though, had almost turned me into something i would never have even imagined myself to be. I knew I was not being me but I couldn't help it and that's where I was not being me at all. Basing my life on the motto of self control and optimism always, I was losing it this time.
Mistakes committed, realized but not effectively redeemed, rather deteriorated by further misunderstanding of where the mistakes lied. A mistake committed is a mistake in the first place only when it is bilateral. Even law doesn't consider unilateral mistakes to be punishable as it is not a mistake in effect. There is never just one side to a problem and a neutral holistic and understanding view is the judicious view. Getting blinded and carried away by a particular frivulous mindset with added bias to make things worse is something which is one of the saddest things that are ever included in the phrase 'being human'. So a certain event is what it takes to get one out of a quicksand-like problem, rather a black hole which keeps pulling you down. An issue as petty as a pebble in the earth, rather 'another brick in the wall' (to please the pink floyd fans) appears to be a core issue, a central theme of life.
Such a quicksand is where I got stuck and thankfully now, with a certain strong event pulled off rather smoothly but effectively, I realized how blatantly wrong a path I was in. Decide the priorities and act upon them is how the rule goes. But implementing it is where my specialities always lie, had almost lost the art, now feel much stronger and better to regain it, being back to normal thanks to a certainly certain event.
Changes and problems in life are like fractures - the patient would want immediate relief and hence, would exert force on the fracture. The doctor would plaster the fractured area and advice the patient to let things be and heal with time. However, it is the most dangerous thing if the bones are not properly set before plastering and letting things be. Placing the bones back to correct slots may hurt the patient like anything before he can plaster it till it totally heals, but that is the only thing in the best interest of the patient. Also analogous to a fracture is the fear of the weak to go to a doctor just due to the fear of the pain while getting the bones placed before the plaster. So if things are not clearly set before they are allowed to cool/heal, they can render the patient with deformity of bone(s) and if the plaster is not done, it is bound to get worse with continuous pain. I got one such fracture, was pushing hard at it, went to the doctor, was advised to let things be and allow it to heal and till then, not to exert force on it. I did the opposite, despite understanding the doctor, I went careless and jumped over the fracture, had to go again to the doctor and ignoring all the anticipation of any pain, I got the fracture correctly placed back to where it should be and got it plastered. I'll take care so that it heals perfectly and will just not at all force anything on it. Though the doctor appears bad/villainish while setting things right and inflicting pain, the doctor is the one who saves us at the end! And as I mentioned above, just one incident is what it takes to get a fracture and one incident it takes to ensure that the fracture does not affect you in the long term because ultimately, it is your body that is being saved; no pain no gain.
And as the theme of this post, life is 10% how you make it and 90% how you take it! An illustration of the theme is The Law of the Garbage Truck, sent to me by my friend Mutahhar... perfect timing of his mail I must say... here it is in his own words -:
"One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,
"The Law of the Garbage Truck."
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..... "
"Love the people who treat you right.. Pray for the ones who don't."
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
...Mutahhar Khan
So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,
"The Law of the Garbage Truck."
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..... "
"Love the people who treat you right.. Pray for the ones who don't."
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
...Mutahhar Khan
And who treats you right will never be correctly understood with a jaundiced eye. The patient will always find the doctor to be a devil, but he who saves the patient is his god! I had and am happy that I HAD almost become a garbage truck, not anymore now. With such a symbolic post, I end up being happy with a plaster, hoping (and trusting the doctor with it) that the bones are set right, back to myself, optimism being the way of life and philanthrophy being one of my traits I shall never, unlike the past few days, be doubful about and try to change. And all that kept in 'balance' and with proper understanding. The doctor does magical heals indeed!
