It’s all the about the perspective, I think.
In the evening, mostly, I go to a Gurudwara Sahib at Fateh Nagar. For a long time, I observed that there is one red light that always turn red as soon as I approach it. It could, or rather should, be a co-incidence. But I have seen it for many many days that it would turn red just when I get close to it.
I started getting frustrated with this repetition of injustice towards me. I even jumped the red light on a couple of occasions, out of frustration. I used to wonder what this red light had against me; what had I done wrong to it. You know the kind of thoughts one gets when something like this happens.
So, everyday, those few seconds at the red light would spoil my mood to some extent. I think it was not about those few extra seconds;it was about the injustice being meted out to me.
However, some part of me did not accept that the red light had something against me. But then why was this happening again and again, I would wonder.
A day before yesterday, I finally figured out the reason why this was happening. “The red light LOVES ME”. Yes, this thought came to my mind. Probably, it loves me and wants to stare at me for a few seconds before I go. Wow!, I thought. So lovely of the red light. As this thought came and I accepted it, I felt a kind of love towards the red light. That day, when I stood at the red light, I was very happy, feeling loved. There is someone who just wants to spend a few moments with me.
The red light turned red even yesterday, but instead of spoiling my mood, it made the mood much better. You know there can’t be better feelings than being loved. So, as I stood on the red light yesterday, I looked at the red light and smiled. I was really feeling much better.
Does this all sound insane? Feeling loved by the red light and smiling and loving it back?
I think there is some (or probably all) insanity in it. But it hardly matters. I know I can’t change its behavior. I can only change my perspective. And I don’t think the previous perspective of “injustice” was any saner.
I asked a question some time back on my facebook wall, “if you have to choose between logic and happiness, what would you choose?”. In this case, I chose happiness over logic
And this is just one specific situation. There are thousands of situations in our life, where we curse others or nature or government or whatever. If we know we can’t do anything in those situations, can we change our perspectives, instead of cursing others? Don’t our perspectives determine our level of happiness and wellness? I remember Sant Sujan Singh ji once saying, “Srishti nahi badalti, Drishti badalti hai”, which means that the world doesn’t change; perspective changes. And that changes everything. Isn’t it?
What do you think?