Do we really make a difference?
The Dalai Lama
once said, “There are 6 billion people in this world and 6 billion versions of
reality.” I cannot argue with his holiness on such a wise and insightful
comment for it hits home at what makes our presence in this world so unique and
special. The driver of this uniqueness is perception, which allows us to have
our “world view” and it heavily influences how we interact with it. We may seem
seamlessly in lockstep with our peers but in reality, ours is a different shade
of the same position taken by our peers should we agree it so.
We often are
too focused, conditioned or just plain busy to see how we affect those around
us, which can be tragic when one suffers set backs in life and questions why one
should “…even try”. So thinking solutions, what can we do?
Intent – They say intent defines our reality, which is
arguable, but we can all agree it drives our decisions which does define our
actions and thus contributes heavily to our reality as we progress through
life. If we intend to be inherently good, when we will make decisions on what
lines we will cross and what ones we will not; with the final set of lines where
we will take action to ensure nobody crosses them. Indeed, if our intent were
inherently evil, we would have similar lines of inaction and action but
contextualised in a different paradigm of being.
Decisions – Making no decision is a decision in itself, so
being careful about the big decisions in context to the moment. It’s always
good to think current situation to direct outcome. However, it’s even better to
append indirect outcomes (i.e. scenarios) and the long-term impact of our
decisions to see if they are consistent with our base intent and who we are as
people.
Actions – We never care to admit that our short-term
interests can stifle our intent, our values and quite possibly our long-term
future. When we make mistakes such as staying silent when a powerful person’s
actions trash on all of the above characteristics, we import their actions,
which disrupts our inner peace. Courage even when it seems like pain is the
short-term requirement for doing the right thing. A sister requirement is
strategy, especially when dealing with complex situations that have multiple
actors, issues and outcomes that are laden with traps one can fall into. It’s
important to remember what one is protecting (e.g. one’s core intent/being) and
thus can act in a manner that maximises one’s chances of success with minimal
disruption. It’s noteworthy that even when the outcomes don’t go your way,
walking away with nothing but your inner peace is a victory in itself!
Reflection – Nobody likes an egotistical bragger ergo we become
averse to thinking about our successes, what we did right, how we made
someone’s day, etc. There is nothing wrong with reflection on what went right
as it lessons our chances of obsessing about what went wrong. We need to
remember that our time on this earth is linear and finite by design, so draw
from the past in a manner that allows you to keep pace with the arrow of time thus
keeping your reality set to its clock. If it means dumping the outlandish pace
of one’s peers whom all want to be richest men in the cemetery, when so be
it!
It is nice to
think about our intent, our awareness, our decisions and actions. We can
reflect in balance on our position and state in life feeling satisfied as we
make a personal connection with its content. We note the drama, the sadness, the
joy and the moments of happiness that in our eyes alone show us how our intent
has defined our reality and our small contribution to a world that without it,
would be a lessor place.
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