"You see the world being dark when you see it through dark glasses"
I read this saying somewhere, i may not have remembered it accurately, but in essence it is right.
The line talks about one's perception of things. And through experience, some good and some bad, i have come to realize that there is a vast difference between perception and reality ; and most of the times, perception holds more importance over reality.
Take the example of a court case - the evidence is reality , the crime is reality - however, the way the crime is punished [the actual function of the law] is based on perception. In American system, the members of jury decide whether the accused is guilty or not. Its based on their perception of the evidence and the case made by the lawyers. [It is perhaps a great thing that the Indian law - no matter what the actual thing is - has the symbol of the law 'goddess' with a set of scales in her hand and a blindfold over her eyes - to make sure that the justice given is free from the bias of perception]
Perception plays a far more important role in our lives. A lot of people have the tendency to see things as ' black or white ' or 'good or bad'. While it may be easier for the person to handle that, its not really good for them. When one sees things in black or white, they lose out on the true colors of life. One has to realize that things are never that extreme - they are always in different colors / shades. Sandip Khare and Salil Kulkarni have written in one of their poems
'' प्रत्येकाच्या मनातून कुठला तरी राग , प्रत्येकाच्या चंद्रावर कुठला तरी डाग "
But what people try to do is to classify things as totally bad - black or totally good - white. And this leads to expectations. E.g. someone who's clasisified as 'white' would always be expected to do everything perfectly - they cant slip even once - or they are re-classified as 'black'. But that is not the way things work in life, is it? It's true the other way round as well. Someone who has done something bad and is classified as 'black' will no longer be expected to do any good - and even if they do, its hard to redeem themselves.
The point i am trying to make is that one should see things as they are - more objective, and less biased - then only one can know the reality. People usually fall in either of the two categories 'optimistic' or 'pessimistic' - why isnt there a third category 'realist'. I have always considered myself a realist - i prefer not to be either optimistic or pessimistic about things - i prefer to see things as they are. People may think i'm either opti/pessimistic depending on their own perception of the situation, but for me its being a realist. But this brings us to the paradox with which i'll end the post.
When i say i see the real thing, its through my eyes - is that not my perception?
But what people try to do is to classify things as totally bad - black or totally good - white. And this leads to expectations. E.g. someone who's clasisified as 'white' would always be expected to do everything perfectly - they cant slip even once - or they are re-classified as 'black'. But that is not the way things work in life, is it? It's true the other way round as well. Someone who has done something bad and is classified as 'black' will no longer be expected to do any good - and even if they do, its hard to redeem themselves.
The point i am trying to make is that one should see things as they are - more objective, and less biased - then only one can know the reality. People usually fall in either of the two categories 'optimistic' or 'pessimistic' - why isnt there a third category 'realist'. I have always considered myself a realist - i prefer not to be either optimistic or pessimistic about things - i prefer to see things as they are. People may think i'm either opti/pessimistic depending on their own perception of the situation, but for me its being a realist. But this brings us to the paradox with which i'll end the post.
When i say i see the real thing, its through my eyes - is that not my perception?
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