Perspectives

My girl was not happy. She said she did not enjoy the fair. She mentioned that she did not eat the floss candy, did not tell her name to that Uncle over there and, she did not get the balloons. I wondered why only these incidents were in her mind. Nevertheless, I replied instantly, “but then you had a good bike ride, and you got a soft teddy bear for putting the ball in the basket and, you got a beautiful strawberry tattoo made on your palm. You also danced on your favorite number Kolavari.” And asked again, “So how did you enjoy the fair?” Her response changed immediately. I enjoyed it very much, and later on she kept telling it to everyone.

In this case, it was a three-year old so one can say that it is easy to change the mind. But, shouldn’t it be easy for the adults to do the same? Why negative aspects remain more intense and overpowering in our mind than the positive ones? Once, a girl of class XII was upset about her math paper. She had messed up a question worth 5 marks out of 100. After the exam all she remembered was that 5-mark question and cried hell throughout the day. She did not or could not relish the achievement of solving the rest questions worth 95 Marks.

A person was cribbing over his new job that he has long hours of work, he is called unexpectedly on weekends and his “job sucks”. As we talked more about his job, he disclosed that he had a descent offer from this new company. His company provided him car and other good facilities which the previous company did not. Moreover, he himself told that he had many growth opportunities in the current place as compared to his previous one. All these positive things were lost in the focus of one negative aspect of this job.

Life is full of events with mixed experiences, and it is on us how we want to see and remember those events. Not only we can decide which color glass to put on, but also help others in choosing the right one. Positive outcome is generally hoped, expected and therefore, taken for granted; we do not appreciate it as much. Nevertheless, we should be thankful to God as well as others who have been significant. For some, it is also important to give credit to themselves for their efforts. Positive outlook and attitude of gratitude makes life’s experiences richer and more meaningful. When positive, we can also spread the bliss around us.